Two to Tango
by xbleeple
Summary: Three years into their marriage, Sharon and Andy are finding that it still takes two to tango through life. [Sequel to Die with You and Heat of the Moment]
1. Chapter 1

**Notes:** Hi everyone! Welcome to the sequel to "Die with You", if you haven't read that or it's parent story (Heat of the Moment), I'd suggest backtracking a little bit now and checking those out.

We are picking up in February of 1995. Nicole is 9, Emily is 8, Charlie is 7, and Ricky is 5, Sharon and Andy are on the back side of their thirties and have been married just shy of 3 years at this point. It's been around 10 years since this story started.

Please let me know your thoughts! Enjoy!

* * *

"I can't believe you're going camping for your birthday," Gavin says as he and Andrea walk through a small shopping district with Sharon. The kids were at home with their dad for the afternoon and Sharon had escaped to have some lunch and do a little shopping after they got home from Mass.

"That's not all we're doing," Sharon defends as she regards a small tea boutique before stepping in, "We're camping at Joshua Tree on the way to Arizona to go to Dodgers spring training."

"You kept talking and it got worse," Gavin groans.

"Are you sure this is your birthday you're celebrating and not Andy's?" Andrea smarts with an arched eyebrow as she picks up a mug to look at.

"I like camping, and I like baseball," Sharon says with a slight bite to her tone, "It's something that we like doing together. We're already going on the trip to Europe this summer, we really don't need to do something big for my birthday. If I can get a weekend away from the kids doing something mildly fun, I'll take it."

"Alright, alright," Gavin holds his hands up, "I give up. I wouldn't have agreed to take the little Flynnlings if I didn't think it was a worthy cause."

"They're not that little anymore," Sharon sighs softly as she looks at the different tea blends lining the wall.

"Tell me about it," Andrea agrees, "I can't believe how tall Ricky has gotten."

"He's taller than Emily," Sharon says, pinching her fingers together, "Just a smidge. He's probably going to end up taller than his father…god help us, we'll have to get a new car in the next couple years so he can fit in it."

"Don't let it be said you don't grow them well," Gavin points out. Sharon laughs and pulls a canister down, lifting the lid off before taking a small whiff. She lets out a hum and puts it back before trying a couple others. She reaches back for the first canister and takes it over to the counter.

"Can I get a couple ounces of this?" Sharon asks as she slides the container across the counter.

"Of course," The woman smiles, "Have you had this blend before?"

"No, it smells heavenly though."

"It has a great taste."

"It's herbal? I've been looking for something to drink in the evening."

"It is mostly other leafs and a little bit of fruit, it's a good night tea," The woman explains as Sharon hands over her credit card while she reads the label on the bag.

"Red raspberry leaf, nettle, red clover…raspberry…lemon…" Sharon shrugs with a hum and signs her name on the bottom of the slip before putting the card back in her wallet and tucking the small pouch into a bag that she already was carrying. Andrea buys a mug before the three of them head out of the store.

"When do you have to be home?" Andrea asks as they continue to walk.

"Soon probably," Sharon replies as she looks at her watch, "We should probably start heading back towards the cars. I told Andy I would be back to make dinner, and I think I need to run by the store still."

"Sure."

"What's for dinner?" Gavin asks as they cross the street to the other side and head back in the direction of where they parked.

"I'm thinking baked chicken, some vegetables, bread…might even splurge on some gravy."

"Well aren't you just Miss Martha Stewart."

"It's Sunday," Sharon shrugs, "No one's coming home late from work or running off to rehearsals or practice. One night a week we can have a proper dinner. You're welcome to come over."

"Oh no, I have a sushi date tonight."

"With?"

"Me, myself, and I," Gavin grins, "I have some case files to go over, I'm picking up some takeout on the way home."

"Takeout fish?" Andrea wrinkles her nose.

"How is it any different than eating it in the restaurant?" Gavin says exasperated. They had had this argument multiple times before, "It's not like I'm picking it up from a gas station."

"I don't know! There's just something about getting fish to go…" She wrinkles her nose again and shakes her head. Sharon laughs and shakes her head at the two of them. Once they get back to their cars she waves them off as she puts her bags into the trunk before getting in and turning the engine over. She stops at the store on the way home, picking up a few extra things for dinner before turning her sights towards the house. She parks in the garage and grabs all of her purchases, carrying them into the kitchen and dropping everything on the table.

"Andy? I'm home!" Sharon calls out as she unloads the groceries. She looks up as she hears the heavy footfall of her husband's steps, smiling at him when he comes into the kitchen, "Hey honey."

"Hi," Andy smiles, leaning down to press his lips to hers, "Good afternoon?"

"Very good," Sharon says, "How about yours?"

"Same," Andy replies, his hands resting on her hips as he stands in front of her, "Homework is done, uniforms are washed. Sam came over for a little bit while Ricky and I were out back playing catch, and now they are in the living room watching tv."

"Mmmm," Sharon hums as she leans up to kiss Andy again, "Have I told you how wonderful you are lately?"

"Not since this morning," Andy grins and winks, stepping back as her hand reaches out to pinch him.

"You're terrible," Sharon says with a laugh and a shake of her head, "I was going to make chicken for dinner. Does that sound okay?"

"Sounds wonderful," Andy says, "Do you need any help?"

"Do you want to cut up some vegetables while I say hi to the kids?"

"I can do that," Andy agrees as he steps over to the sink to wash his hands. Sharon presses a kiss to his cheek and makes her way into the living room, finding Emily and Ricky sprawled out on the floor watching tv.

"Hey, what are you two watching?"

"Scooby Doo," Ricky says, looking away from the tv to smile at his mother. Sharon smiles back and runs her fingers through his hair before pressing a kiss to his head.

"Did you have a good afternoon with your dad?"

"Mmhm," Ricky nods and grins, "What's for dinner?"

"Chicken and vegetables," Sharon says before playfully grabbing at his bicep, "Though maybe we should give you some protein shakes, string bean!"

"Momma stop!" Ricky laughs as Sharon switches to tickling him. Lily lifts her head from Emily's lap, watching the two of them for a moment before laying her head back down and letting out a sigh. After letting her son go, Sharon reaches over and tugs gently on Emily's hair to get her daughter's attention. She seemed quite pensive for an eight year old watching an old cartoon.

"Dad said Sam came over for a bit?"

"Mmhm," Emily nods, tearing her eyes away from the tv, offering her mom a small smile, "Dad let us paint, I made you a picture. It's on the bed."

"Thank you, honey," Sharon smiles, leaning over to kiss her daughter's cheek before pushing up from the floor, "Dinner will be about an hour, one more episode and then I want you to wash up and set the table."

"Okay," Both of the kids say, turning their eyes back to the television. Sharon makes her way back into the kitchen just as Andy calls out.

"Honey, did you get toilet paper while you were at the store?"

"Crap!" Sharon groans, stomping the last couple steps to her husband and dropping her head against his shoulder, "I knew I was forgetting something!"

"Aren't you the one usually harping about making a list?"

"Oh hush," Sharon says as she pinches his side. Andy jumps and smacks her hand away with a sparkle in his eye.

"Ow!"

"I'm sorry, did I pinch the baby?" Sharon asks as she sticks her bottom lip out.

"You know I was going to offer to run to the corner store to get us a pack to tie us over but now…I'm not so sure."

"You'd let your kids go without toilet paper because I pinched you?"

"Actions have consequences, Lieutenant," Andy shakes his head in an animated gesture before letting her take over making dinner, "Isn't that what you're always telling me?"

"I'm always telling you that because you're a trouble maker," Sharon says as she mock glares at Andy.

"I am not."

"A six month temporary assignment with Provenza, and you were in my office…"

"Seven times. Yeah, yeah, yeah," Andy rolls his eyes, "Are you ever going to let that go? Or stop rubbing the fact that you have an office in my face?"

"Nope," Sharon smiles sweetly before opening the oven to put the chicken in. She jumps and squeals as she feels a swift swat against her backside after she puts the chicken on the rack. She nudges the oven door closed with her knee and spins on her heel to throw a look at her husband. He grins cheekily at her and shrugs.

"I've been cooped up with the kids all day."

"Oh you _are_ trouble," Sharon says as she steps closer to Andy, cupping his face in her hands as she presses a kiss to his lips. Andy's arms snake around her waist and he holds her close as he deepens the kiss with a soft groan.

"I hope you're not being gross near dinner!" Emily yells out from the living room. Sharon chuckles against Andy's lips and pulls back, dropping her head to his chest.

"Who told us to have kids again?"

"Mmm, I don't think we get to blame that on anyone," Andy laughs, rubbing his hands up her back as he holds her close, "I love you."

"I love you too," Sharon murmurs as she stands in his arms for a couple more moments before he pulls away and grabs his car keys off the table.

"I'll be right back," He assures her, winking before he disappears into the garage. Sharon sighs and shakes her head, picking up her purchases and carrying them to the bedroom. She puts a few things in the laundry pile and empties the other things onto her vanity, putting them into their proper spots. She folds up the bags and tucks them next to the trashcan in the bathroom. On her way back through the bedroom to the kitchen she spots Emily's painting, a smile spreading across her lips as she picks up the crinkly paper. The girl had painted her a small vase of flowers, differing in color from purple to pink, all tucked into a blue vase. Sharon props the painting up next to the mirror before turning the light off and going back to the kitchen.

After cleaning up the dishes from dinner and tucking the leftovers away into various containers for use through out the week, Sharon busies herself with getting the kids tucked in while Andy takes the dog out once more before they head to bed themselves. She gets Ricky settled in first, reading him a short chapter from the book they were working through before pressing a soft kiss to his head and tucking his Dodgers comforter around his long form. They'd moved all of the kids up to regular size twin beds over the holidays and let them pick out their own bedding. Ricky and Charlie had both picked Dodgers sets, while Nicole had picked a yellow gingham set and Emily purple butterflies.

Sharon turns the light off in Ricky's room, pulling the door closed before crossing the hall to Emily's room, smiling as she finds the girl reading to herself, her long brown hair hanging over her shoulder as she waits to be tucked in.

"What're you reading tonight?" Sharon asks as she sits on the edge of the bed, tilting her head to get a look at the cover.

"Matilda," Emily says, shifting the book so Sharon could get a better look at it, "I got it from the library on Friday. It's good."

"What's it about?"

"A little girl who's really smart, but her parents kind of suck," Emily shrugs, "That's about as far as I've gotten."

"Sounds interesting," Sharon smiles. Emily puts a scrap of paper from her bedside table into the book before closing it and putting it on her bedside table. She shuffles down on the bed a little bit more and sighs as she looks up at her mother, her brow furrowing slightly. Sharon offers her a concerned look as she smoothes her hand over the blanket, "Everything okay?"

"What's a period?" Emily asks.

"A period?" Sharon clarifies, making sure that she'd heard her daughter right. Sometimes when she looked at Emily she forgot that her daughter wasn't a chubby cheeked little toddler anymore. She was very much on the brink of becoming a pre-teen.

"Yeah," Emily nods, "When Sam came over she said that Katie Olsen had gotten hers and that meant that she was a woman now, but I don't know what that is. I've also heard Abbie and Jenna talk about them too."

"Oh…" Sharon says, biting her bottom lip for a moment as she casts her eyes up at the ceiling. She shifts her position on the bed, settling in a little bit more before she takes a deep breath, starting to explain a bit of the finer points of the human body to her daughter.

* * *

[TBC]


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:** Thanks to everyone who made it over and reviewed the last chapter - it's always great to hear from you!

* * *

Sharon stretches her toes out as she lays on the air mattress next to Andy, staring up at the stars. She squeezes his hand softly after threading their fingers together.

"I like it when we do this," Sharon comments.

"Me too," Andy agrees. Since their foray into camping during their honeymoon, the two of them had made an effort to spend a few weekends a year out a Joshua Tree without the kids. Sharon snuggles closer and puts her head on his shoulder, letting out a small sigh, "What's on your mind?"

"Emily," Sharon replies.

"Emily?" Andy questions. Sharon sighs and sits up, turning to face Andy as she curls a leg under her body. He sits up on his elbow, looking up at her with an arched eyebrow. The campfire they had going danced behind them, highlighting the streaks of red and gold in her hair. She pulls her sweater a little tighter around her body and shrugs as she looks at her husband, a sad but slightly bemused look on her face.

"She asked me what her period was Sunday night."

"She what?" Andy asks as he sits up more.

"Apparently some of her older friends from ballet have started getting them…" Sharon explains, "She's going to be _nine_ this year, Andy. Nicole is going to be ten…puberty is right around the corner."

"Oh god," Andy groans, flopping down to the mattress and throwing his arm over his eyes, "Please don't say those words in conjunction with my daughters, please."

"Our babies are growing up," Sharon groans and drops her head to Andy's chest. He moves his arm from his face, wrapping it around her and pulling her close, "Think about it…they're all in school, they have friends, they play sports…we don't have babies anymore…we have kids."

"We knew it was going to happen eventually."

"Not now," Sharon whines. Andy laughs and rubs his hand up her back before rolling her over and looking down at her, finding her dewy eyed at the thought that their babies were no longer babies, "I'm old."

"You are most definitely not old," Andy tells her as he leans down and kisses her. Sharon laughs and cups his face in her hands, kissing him back softly. His hands run up her body, slipping under her shirt and brushing against her skin, "Not old at all."

"Only _you_ would be able to use this as a pickup line," Sharon murmurs with a grin against his mouth before pulling back, "Why don't we move the bed back into the tent?"

"I could get behind that idea," Andy smiles before pushing himself up. He offers a hand out to Sharon, helping her off the ground before nudging her towards the tent. Sharon laughs and unzips the flap for him, grabbing one of the gallons of water they had brought with to put the fire out. She empties the last of the hot water into her tea cup before she makes sure all of the logs are doused and their food is put up. She joins Andy in the tent, setting her cup down by her side of the bed. She grabs him by his belt loops and pulls him closer, capturing his lips with hers.

"Mmm, I had a really good time today," Sharon murmurs as she wraps her arms around him, pecking his lips softly again.

"Birthday weekend has barely started."

"Doesn't mean I didn't have a good time today," Sharon smiles. Andy had surprised her with lunch and flowers waiting on her desk when she'd gotten back from a roll out, and had secured a couple slices of her favorite cheesecake to put in their cooler for after dinner.

"Well that's what I aim for, a good time," Andy winks and kisses the tip of her nose.

"Oh don't I know it?" Sharon grins, shifting her hold on him as he pushes her sweater down her shoulders, a small giggle bubbling out at his hunched over state. They had gotten a taller tent, but it was still a bit short for Andy to stand up in. She places her hands over his and kisses his knuckles as she looks up at him, "Why don't you let me take care of this before you end up with a hump back?"

"This is the fun part though."

"Oh is it?" Sharon says with an arch of her eyebrow. Andy laughs and drops down to sit on the edge of the mattress, straightening his back out as he tugs his t-shirt off. Sharon pulls her long sleeve off and undoes her bra before dropping it onto her growing pile of clothes. She shimmies out of her jeans and underwear as elegantly as she can before grabbing the sweater back up and shrugging it on.

"That's quite the look," Andy comments as he slips back underneath the blankets on the far side of the bed.

"I saw it in Vogue," Sharon says as she puts her hands on her hips and strikes a pose for her husband. Andy's eyes drag up her body, taking in her shapely calves and thighs, the lean lines of her torso. There was a soft pooch to her belly that she'd never been able to get rid of, her c-section scar was barely noticeable at it's place between her hips. There were small crinkles at the corners of her eyes as she grinned down at him as a soft dusting of freckles lie over her pale skin.

"Get down here," Andy commands in a deep voice, an aroused husk to his tone.

"Yes, sir," Sharon winks at him before slipping down onto the bed next to him. Andy's hands immediately move under the sweater, pulling her close as he rolls to hover over her.

"You're beautiful you know that?" Andy tells her as he presses his lips to her jaw gently.

"You might have mentioned it a time or two," Sharon whispers as her eyes flutter closed. He moves his lips along her jaw, biting softly at the soft skin behind her ear, drawing a soft moan out of her. He closes teeth around the lobe, tugging before his tongue trails around the shell.

"You are absolutely, and utterly, gorgeous," Andy murmurs in her ear before his mouth moves back down. Sharon's hands slip up his back and she massages her fingers up his neck and into his hair as her breathing quickens. She moans as she feels his teeth scrape against the sensitive skin of her neck and collarbone while his hands spread her only piece of clothing apart.

Her hips involuntarily arch into him as she feels his tongue circle around her nipple as the other is covered by his hand. Andy's hand massages the warm flesh in his hand as his tongue teases the pink flesh into a peak before he closes his lips around it and adds pressure to the mix. Sharon moans his name as her fingers pull at the short strands at the base of his scalp.

"Perfect," Andy murmurs as he kisses his way across, switching breasts before his lips move down. He takes his time pressing kisses to the soft skin of her abdomen. His tongue dips into her navel and he grins as she gasps and jerks into him again. He pushes her thighs apart and looks up at her as he spreads her folds apart, finding her warm, wet, and quivering.

"Andy," Sharon whimpers as he blows a soft puff of air over her. Her eyes open and she locks her gaze with his, both of their eyes pools of black.

"Hmm?" Andy asks, arching his eyebrow.

"I need you," Sharon whispers as she bucks her hips up.

"I gathered that," Andy says as he swipes his tongue up her opening, lapping at her. Sharon groans as she drops her head back. Her fingers leave Andy's hair and bury in her own as she moans under the relentless movements of his tongue.

"More," Sharon begs as she rocks her hips in time with his ministrations, feeling her release building in the pit of her stomach. Andy moves his tongue to focus on her clit as he slides two fingers into her, curling them up as he thrusts them in and out of her. Her chest was rising and falling in hard, heavy pants as her hips move, searching for release.

"I've got you," Andy murmurs as he latches onto her clit and slides a third finger into her depths, stretching her out. Sharon's back arches as she cries out Andy's name, her muscles clenching around his fingers and her juices flooding his mouth as fire floods through her veins. He waits for her to come down from her high before slipping his hand away and quickly kissing his way up to her lips.

Sharon hums as she tastes herself on his mouth, kissing him back hungrily as she buries her fingers into his hair and clutches him close. She locks her legs around his hips and flips them over so she's sitting astride him, grinding herself against his hard length. Andy's hands easily settle on her hips as he looks up at her, taking in her flushed and sweaty skin and the evil gleam in her eyes.

"Again?" Andy asks while his thumbs massage her hip bones, his own hips lazily rocking back against her.

"Oh yes," Sharon nods before artfully shifting her hips and taking his entire length inside of her. She lets out a long groan as she's impaled on his cock, only taking a moment before beginning to move. Andy gives her a few moments to settle in as he enjoys the feel of her surrounding him with a gentle pulsing rhythm in her muscles that were tugging him tight. As she reaches up to cup her breasts in her hands he flips them over, putting her back on her back as her eyes widen in shock, but darken in arousal. He offers her a soft wink as he runs his hands up her thighs and grabs them pushing them back into her body as he rocks his hips harder against hers. Her chest flushes as he hits that perfect spot within her depths and grinds himself perfectly against her clit on each down thrust.

"Tell me what you want," Andy demands in a gravel tone watching as her nails scratch softly against her own skin, her release already quickly building up again.

"Harder," Sharon begs, trying to get the leverage she needed to push back harder against him, but finding the mattress too soft. Andy lifts both of her legs to his shoulders, the movement pulling her hips up to a different angle as he grips her thighs before thrusting harder into her. Sharon lets out a groan as he dives into her perfectly, "Yes!"

"Good?" Andy asks as he watches her writhe beneath him. Sharon nods as she whimpers, slipping her hand between them to touch herself, the other one fisted in the blankets around them. He feels a bead of sweat roll down his spine as he continues to thrust his hips hard into hers.

"I'm so close," Sharon half begs and half warns him. Andy shifts his weight slightly and grabs her breasts, not breaking his stride for a moment. He squeezes the soft flesh and rubs his thumbs over her nipples, teasingly dragging his thumbnail around her areola. He watches as her muscles tighten and she throws her head back, crying out his name in a harsher tone than she had before, her body writhing and flushed as the waves of ecstasy flowed through her.

Andy feels his own muscles bunch as he buries himself into her as he cums, his hips jerking erratically as he groans her name. He lets her legs slip down to the bed, eliciting another small whimper from her as he collapses on top of her, taking care not to put all of his weight on her small frame.

"I've missed that sound," Andy murmurs as he trails kisses across her neck before kissing her lips softly. It was so rare that they got the time to themselves to be as loud as they wanted. He brushes an errant curl back from her face and studies her eyes. A small grin flits over his lips as he notices how unfocused they are, feeling the aftershocks flit their way through her system, "Good."

"So good," Sharon whimpers as she kisses him back softly, "You are so good to me."

"Likewise," Andy replies, pressing a soft kiss to her lips and then her forehead before slipping out of her. He reaches over and grabs a couple paper towels to clean themselves up with before taking a sip of Sharon's tea she had next to the bed.

"Thank you," Sharon says, taking the cup from him and taking a drink before setting it back down. They straighten the blankets out and snuggle up together, Sharon burrowing into Andy's side with her sweater wrapped tightly around her and her feet tucked under his calves, "I can't believe you're going to sleep with no clothes on."

"It's not that cold."

"It's like 45 degrees…if you get sick, I'm not taking care of you."

"Yes you will."

"Nuh uh."

"You promised to take care of me when we got married."

"I knew I should have read those papers first," Sharon says, pressing a kiss to his chest. Andy laughs and wraps his arm around her, holding her close, "I love you."

"I love you too, Shar. Happy birthday."

* * *

[TBC]


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes:** Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, glad people enjoyed the smutty break ;)

* * *

"Do you two have everything that you need for the next week?" Sharon asks the kids as Andy lugs their suitcases down the stairs, "We're bringing the rest of your things when we come to pick you up."

"I think so," Ricky says, pulling his Dodgers hat on after he finishes tying his shoes. Sharon rolls her eyes and looks at her husband.

"You know he'll end up coming home in a Yankee's hat if he goes out there in that?"

"Then we'll send him back in a Dodgers t-shirt," Andy says with a grin, knuckling Ricky's head before carrying the suitcases out to the car, "Stringbean probably needs a new one."

"I don't like the Yankees," Ricky protests as Sharon herds the kids out to the car, locking the door behind herself.

"I know you don't honey," Sharon soothes him, "It's a thing between Daddy and Grandpa."

"When are you coming to pick us up?" Emily asks as she pulls the back door open.

"Next weekend," Andy answers as he puts the suitcases in the trunk.

"We are leaving here Friday after work and flying to Hartford, picking you up at the airport, and flying to Dublin," Sharon explains.

"What time will it be when we get there?" Ricky asks.

"About lunch time."

"Do they have cartoons there?"

"Yes they have cartoons, though I don't think we'll be spending enough time at the hotel for that to matter," Sharon smiles as she climbs into the passenger seat and buckles up as Andy gets in the driver seat.

"And where all are we going?" Emily asks, leaning forward as Andy turns the car on and starts to drive them towards the airport.

"We are spending three days in Dublin, two days in London, two days in Paris, and a week in Italy," Andy reminds his daughter, looking in the rearview mirror at her. Sharon smiles and reaches over, squeezing his free hand softly as they make their way to the airport. Emily and Ricky were spending their first week of the summer with her parents before they picked them up in Hartford on the way to Europe with Nicole and Charlie.

They hadn't expended as much vacation as they had thought the year before and had a tidy sum that needed to be used up. After a brief discussion after the holidays and some conversations with a travel agent they had decided to take the kids all to Europe over the summer. The trip was branded as everyones birthday present for the year, though they had assured the kids that they could still have parties, but just wouldn't be receiving a large gift from their parents.

Andy pulls the car into the short term parking lot at LAX and finds a spot before turning the engine off and getting out. Sharon gets out and waits for the kids to clamor out of the back seat before taking their hands as they make their way inside. They head to the check-in counter, getting the kids' tickets and checking their bags before heading to the small cafe they were supposed to be meeting her mother at for lunch before she took her flight back with the kids.

Mary stands from a table she'd secured in the corner and waves to the group as she sees them arrive. Sharon lets the kids free from her grip, following behind them at a more sedate pace with Andy. Once the approach the table she gives her mom a hug and kisses her on the cheek. Andy does the same before pulling Sharon's chair out for her.

"Thank you," Sharon offers him a small smile before sinking into her seat and shuffling into the table. Andy takes a seat next to her before picking up his menu. After lunch with Mary and helping her get the kids onto the plane the two of them headed home for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. Sharon had put a roast on before they left to be ready by dinner and Andy had picked up a selection of movies from the video store. Nicole and Charlie were spending their weekend with Vicky so they had the house to themselves, something that rarely occurred no matter how old the kids were getting.

"Dinner is going to be another couple hours," Sharon says as she checks the oven before tossing the dishtowel in her hands on the counter, "I was thinking about enjoying a bath."

"Oh were you now?" Andy says, arching his eyebrow as he wraps his arms around her waist. The smells coming from the oven were heavenly. It was rare she went so all out for dinner, most of the larger more complicated meals left to him to cook.

"Mmhm," Sharon nods as she tips her head back to look up at Andy. She presses a soft kiss to his chin as her own arms wrap around his form, "Would you care to join me?"

"It does sound tempting," Andy smiles.

"Come on," Sharon says, stepping back and taking his hand, pulling him down the hall to their room. She sits on the edge of the tub and turns the water on before testing it against her hand as it warms. Once it hits the right temperature she drops the plug and lets the tub begin to fill, reaching for her favorite bubble bath scent. She rinses out a cap-full into the water and screws it back onto the container before standing and starting to shed her clothes. Everything gets deposited into the appropriate hampers before she grabs a clip off of the counter and clips her curls out of her face.

Andy sheds his clothes, leaving them on the floor before climbing into the water. He hisses at the heat and reaches forward to turn the water off. Sharon offers him an unamused look as she glances between him and the clothes before picking them up herself and putting them in their proper places. She sticks a toe into the water, slowly lowering herself down before settling between Andy's legs. The waterline was only a little below the brim of the tub and the bubbles were letting out a soft and sultry scent of jasmine into the room.

"Oh this is what heaven feels like," Sharon murmurs.

"Feels pretty good from where I'm sitting," Andy replies as his arms wrap around her and he settles back against the tub. The two of them soak in silence for a few moments before Andy speaks again, "So what is the plan for the week?"

"You have me the rest of the weekend, I'm working a little extra tomorrow and Tuesday, but I'll be home for dinner. Wednesday, I am meeting Andrea and Gavin after work to get my nails done. Thursday, you have your meeting and I will be packing and Friday, Vicky is dropping off Charlie and Nicole at work and we leave to go get the kids. And then we have two whole weeks of vacation," Sharon says with a wistful sigh, "Two weeks of sleeping in, family time, carbs and dessert…no cases."

"No cases sounds nice," Andy replies as he drops his head back, closing his eyes. It seemed to him like his cases were only getting worse, harder to finish, making him believe less and less in humanity. To say he needed a break was an understatement, "Let's go out tomorrow if I don't get a call."

"Go out?"

"For dinner, like one of those date things we used to go on," Andy grins.

"Ah," Sharon laughs as she nods, "Sure that sounds great. Sushi and a movie?"

"Oh I guess," Andy grins, rolling his eyes under his eyelids.

"I could literally feel that eye roll," Sharon comments.

"I'm sure you could," Andy laughs, "You always want sushi."

"I do," Sharon grins as she burrows her head in Andy's shoulder, "It's so yummy."

"Sure, raw fish, yummy."

"You never get actual sushi anyway. Besides you usually get to pick the movie when I get sushi."

"That you are right about," Andy agrees. He presses his lips to the back of her shoulder and sighs softly as he holds her close, "I love you."

"I love you too," Sharon murmurs as she turns her head and presses a soft kiss to his temple, squeezing his arms around her. The two continue to soak until the water runs tepid, causing goosebumps on Sharon's skin. Andy uses his toes to pull the plug before helping her up. He grabs both of them towels, wrapping his around his waist before wrapping the other around Sharon and pressing a kiss to her lips. She smiles and winks softly at him before heading into the bedroom to finish drying off and change into comfortable clothes.

Sharon makes her way to the kitchen, beginning on finishing up dinner for them. She hears Andy walk into the living room and turn the tv on, flipping over to the Dodgers game as he sinks onto the couch. A soft smile spreads across her lips as she moves around the kitchen, listening to him yell at the tv as she sets the table for the two of them before pulling the roast out of the oven. After plating both of their dinners she opens her mouth to call him in for dinner, snapping it shut when the phone rings.

"I've got it," Andy calls out, grabbing the handset in the living room. Sharon steps through to the other room and leans in the doorway as he talks on the phone, watching as his brow furrows and his shoulder's hunch before he tosses the receiver down into the cradle with a heavy thud.

"Work?"

"Yeah," Andy sighs, rubbing his hands over his face, "I gotta go. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Sharon assures him, stepping forward to place a hand on his chest and rub gently, "Go get changed, I'll box up your dinner."

"Thank you," Andy murmurs and presses a kiss to her head before heading back down the hall. He comes out a few minutes later dressed in his usual suit, clipping his gun and handcuffs onto his belt. He puts his badge on as he steps into the kitchen. Sharon holds out a lunch bag and a thermos to him with a soft smile on her lips. He takes the two items with a grateful look, leaning down to press a kiss to her mouth and wrap his free arm around her for a moment.

"Call me when you have a moment?"

"I will," Andy nods. Sharon reaches up and strokes his cheek, giving him a small tap.

"Be safe."

"I will."

"I love you," She reminds.

"I love you too."

"Get out of here," Sharon says, shoving him towards the door. Andy laughs softly and looks back at her, offering a wink before heading out to his car. She sighs and shakes her head after the door clicks shut. She makes herself a cup of tea and grabs her plate off the table before heading into the living room and collapsing onto the couch. She gives Lily a look as the dog ventures over from her bed, "Looks like it's just you and me."

* * *

[TBC]


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes:** No worry - no drama...yet. Enjoy!

* * *

Andy's case ended up taking almost all week. They wrapped up Thursday afternoon and after stopping by a meeting on his way home, Andy ended up home at almost the same time as Sharon, coming in only a few moments behind her. She had already taken her heels off and put her gun up in the safe and was puttering around the house, gathering suitcases to pack. She stops in the hall and set the two suitcases in her hands outside the bedroom door before making her way down to greet him. During his time at work she'd brought him clothes to change into and made sure he had food to eat, hating the way he could eat when he was on a case bender.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting you to be home so early," Sharon says.

"Early or late?" Andy grumbles, "I haven't been home in five days…I think I'm a little behind schedule."

"Maybe," Sharon sighs as she steps up behind him and wraps her arms around his form, pressing her cheek to his back, "I'm glad you're home. I'm sorry your case took so long."

"Me too," Andy murmurs, squeezing her hand softly before she lets him go. He holds up a takeout bag to her with a tired smile on his face.

"What's this?" Sharon asks as she takes the bag, peering inside.

"Sushi," Andy replies, "Figured I'd make up for not being able to take you to dinner on Sunday."

"Andy," Sharon murmurs, staring in the bag for a moment longer before looking up at her husband with soft eyes.

"It's your favorite," Andy supplies, "I just picked it up ten minutes ago."

"You didn't have to do that," Sharon says, "You don't have to make up getting called in to me."

"I wanted to," Andy says, "It's the first time we've had alone in a while and I worked all week."

"Not your fault," Sharon reminds him. She leans up on her toes and kisses him, taking a moment to indulge before smiling at him, "Thank you for dinner."

"You're welcome," Andy replies. Sharon carries the bag into the kitchen and begins to unpack, frowning when she only pulls out two boxes of sushi.

"You didn't get anything?"

"I'm not that hungry," Andy shakes his head as he shrugs out of his suit jacket, "I'm going to go take a very long shower, and climb into bed. That won't get in the way of your packing right?"

"No," Sharon says, shaking her head after a moment. Andy leans forward and presses a kiss to her head before heading down the hall. She unpacks the food onto a plate, putting a small container of soy sauce on her plate before going to the bedroom. She sets the plate onto the dresser top and puts both suitcases on her side of the bed, their open tops hanging off the edge.

Listening to the water run in the bathroom for a few moments, Sharon grabs her first piece of sushi with her fingers and dips it before stuffing it into her mouth. She wipes her fingers off on the towel hanging off of her work pants before starting to pack. Andy comes out of the bathroom a while later, pink from the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He dries off and dresses in a pair of boxers before climbing into his side of the bed. Sharon smiles at him as he slips under the blankets, his eyes already practically closed when his head hits the pillow. She reaches over and turns the light she had on down slightly before dropping a shirt into the suitcase.

"I love you," Andy murmurs.

"I love you too," Sharon replies, "Get some rest."

"Thank you," Andy sighs, closing his eyes and burrowing further into the bed. He was asleep in moments and Sharon continued her rotation between packing and eating until she had finished her food and packing her and Andy's clothes. She moves into the bathroom and picks up the toiletries, putting everything they needed into a plastic zipper bag before tossing it onto the clothes. She picks a couple pairs of shoes each for them before heading into the kids room and starting to pull clothes for them.

Sharon packs the second suitcase for the kids, making sure that they had enough stuff for Emily and Ricky, even a couple extra items for Nicole and Charlie even though Vicky was sending them with a suitcase of their own. Once she finishes with both she double checks their contents before zipping them up and carrying them to the living room. She goes through the fridge and empties the food that was going to expire while they were gone, taking the trash out after she finishes. She does the dishes and makes a list for Molly to hang on the fridge. The girl was housesitting while they were out of town, stopping by to check on Lily and keep an eye on things.

Sharon walks through the house once more, making sure that she wasn't forgetting anything before heading towards the bedroom. Andy was still dead to the world on the bed so Sharon diverts her attention to the bathroom, taking a long shower herself before dressing in his t-shirt from the previous day and climbing into bed next to him. She smiles as his arm wraps around her waist before pulling her back to his chest. He nuzzles her hair out of the way and sighs softly.

"Hi," Sharon whispers.

"Hi," Andy murmurs, his eyes still closed, sleep thick on his voice, "Get packed?"

"We are all packed," Sharon assures him.

"Anything you need me to do?"

"Not right now, I left you a note on the kitchen counter for tomorrow," Sharon says as she turns to press a kiss to Andy's head, "Go back to sleep."

"Mmkay," Andy mumbles. He presses his lips to her shoulder and sighs as he settles back down. Sharon strokes her hand along his arm as she closes her own eyes, letting out a long breath as she settles back into Andy's body.

They next morning she dresses for work, leaving him in bed with a kiss to his forehead before heading out of the house. She picks up breakfast and coffee on the way to work, settling in for the day with a sigh. She spends most of her day filling out paperwork from her week, making sure everything was on the up and up before she went on vacation. Her head lifts around three in the afternoon when she hears a knock on her door.

"Come in," She calls out, capping the pen in her hands. A smile spreads across her lips as the door opens and the kids spill into the room, Andy behind them, "Hi guys!"

"Sharon!" Nicole exclaims, the first one to get around her desk in the tiny room to give her a hug. Sharon hugs her close and presses a kiss to her head.

"It is officially vacation time," Andy reminds as he tips his watch towards her.

"It's three already?" Sharon says as she turns the clock on her desk, rolling her eyes before blowing her bangs out of her face, "Alright, let me get this bound up and dropped off and then we can go. Give me 10 minutes and I'll meet you downstairs?"

"Yeah," Andy nods, "Can I have your car keys? Vicky dropped us off."

"Yes," Sharon nods before digging in her purse to get her keys out, tossing them to Andy. He winks at her before telling the kids they were going down to the car, herding them out of her office. She finishes up her work and drops it off with her commander before going downstairs, smiling when she sees that Andy has the car pulled up. She makes her way over to the car and opens the passenger side door, tossing her bag onto the floor before dropping into the seat, "Officially vacation time."

"Alright, to the airport!" Andy says, turning the engine back over and making his way to LAX. Sharon reaches over the middle and threads her fingers through Andy's with a soft smile, looking out the window as they drive. Once they get to the airport the car gets parked in long term parking before the four of them get out. Andy gets the suitcases out of the trunk, letting Sharon take one as he rolls the other two.

"Passports?"

"In the top pocket of the…black one," Andy answers as they walk. Charlie holds onto Sharon's free hand as Nicole walks between the three of them. Inside Sharon digs all of their passports out of the suitcase, tucking Ricky's and Emily's into her purse. They check in at the desk for their airline and get their boarding passes before heading through to the gate.

"Sharon, can we get snacks?" Charlie asks, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Sure," Sharon nods as she looks at her watch, "We have a bit before boarding. Nic, do you want anything?"

"Yeah," Nicole nods.

"I'll stay here," Andy says, setting their carry ons down in an empty chair, "You just want to grab me a bag of chips?"

"Sure," Sharon nods with a smile before walking with the kids to the convenience store. The kids each pick out a couple snacks to tie them over for the two flights. Sharon grabs something for herself and Andy, also grabbing some things for Ricky and Emily. She pays for everything before they walk back to the gate where Andy was holding their spots, reading a newspaper. She drops the bag of chips in his lap before sinking down in the seat next to him.

"Awe you even got me barbecue chips," Andy grins as he picks up the bag of chips.

"If only to not have to listen to you for twelve hours that you wish they were barbecue," Sharon smiles and winks at him before turning her attention to the kids, pulling Nicole over and wrapping her in a tight hug, "Oh I've missed you. How was your week with your mom?"

"Good, Mom took us to San Diego for a couple days to visit Aunt Sherry, we went to the beach and Seaworld and the zoo."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Sharon smiles, "I didn't know you had family in San Diego."

"Aunt Sherry isn't family she…"

"Is a friend of Vic's, they went to college together," Andy answers.

"Ah, well I'm glad you had a good time," Sharon says, "And it looks like you even got a bit of a tan."

"It was a sunburn when we got home, but it's not anymore," Nicole grins.

"It's that little bit of Irish in her," Andy shakes his head with a grin. Sharon rolls her eyes and slaps his leg, giving him a look as she opens her mouth to retort, closing it as they start to make their boarding announcements.

"We will now begin boarding for flight 138, direct service to Bradley International…"

* * *

[TBC]


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes:** Thanks for everyone that reviewed the last chapter :) Continue to enjoy.

* * *

Andy sits back in his beach chair watching from behind darkened lenses as Sharon stands over the kids, observing them as they make a sand castle. They had gotten to Rome the afternoon before and after dinner out on the town they had decided to take advantage of a down day to recuperate and spend time at the beach. After a late breakfast they'd packed up the rental car they had and made their way out of town to a beach in Sabaudia. The kids were slathered in sunscreen and sent off to play with the two of them alternating off on who was keeping an eye on them.

Andy looks over the brim of his sunglasses and drags his eyes over Sharon's form. She was wearing a simple black one piece suit that was cut high on the leg and with a low scooping back with her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, all topped off with a blue and purple silk wrap that was fluttering in the sea breeze. He grabs the camera and focuses in on the five of them, snapping a couple pictures. After putting the camera away he pushes out of the chair and rights his glasses on his face, making his way down closer to the tide where they were playing.

"Hi," Sharon smiles, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head and squinting in the sunlight as she looks up at him.

"Hi," Andy smiles back, leaning down to kiss her, "Having fun?"

"I think so," Sharon nods, wrapping her arm around his waist, "We should probably do more sunscreen here soon, and then maybe some lunch?"

"I can walk over to the restaurant and pick some stuff up," Andy offers.

"Sure. That would be great," Sharon agrees, "Maybe some vegetables, I think they're getting a little carb overload."

"I will do what I can," Andy kisses her before heading back towards their things. He grabs his t-shirt and pulls it on along with his sandals before making his way up the beach towards the restaurant that was near by. He comes back a while later with a pile of to-go boxes, finding Sharon sitting in one of the two chairs they had and all of the kids sprawled out on a blanket under an umbrella.

"Oh, what did you get?" Sharon says as she takes some of the containers from him.

"Mostly fish, little bit of pasta, and a couple salads," Andy says as he sets the other containers down before pulling two large bottles of water out of his pockets, "And some water."

"Thank you," Sharon smiles appreciatively before starting to break up the food for the kids. She hands them a couple of the containers along with plastic silverware, leaning back in her chair as Andy breaks up the rest of the food for them, "This looks delicious."

"Seafood is fresh, caught earlier this morning," Andy says as he starts to eat.

"Daddy, what's this?" Charlie asks as he holds up a mussel he'd picked out of his pasta.

"It's a mussel."

"What's that?"

"It's fish, just eat it," Andy directs. Charlie shrugs and throws it in his mouth before turning back to his food. After the kids finish eating Sharon collects all of the containers and walks them over to the trash can, finding Andy shedding his shirt and sandals when he gets back, "I'm going to take the kids in if you want to sit for a bit."

"I might join you for a quick dip," Sharon says as she takes off her wrap, draping it over the back of the chair. Andy grabs Charlie off of the ground and puts him on his shoulders as they make their way down to the tide, wading out into the shallow seawater. He launches the boy off of his shoulders into the water, laughing as he surfaces a moment later, shaking the water out of his hair and giving Andy the stink eye.

"Daddy!"

"What?" Andy grins. Charlie rolls his eyes before swimming over to his siblings. The boy had a talent for the water and was on a club swim team, competing in their "guppy" program with practices a few times a week and generally a meet every other weekend. His lean form gave him a speed edge over the other kids his age.

"Dad throw me," Nicole says as she paddles over. Andy spends a bit of time, taking turns throwing the kids out into the surf. Ricky wiggles in his hold as Andy grabs him again.

"Get Momma," Ricky whispers with a grin.

"Get Mom?"

"Mmhm," Ricky nods, squealing as Andy tosses him again. Sharon laughs as she turns her attention to the splash he had made, making sure he came up safely. Andy takes advantage of her diverted attention to dip low in the water behind her, waiting for the perfect moment. He grabs her around the waist with a firm grip before finding his footing on the soft sand and pushing up, lifting her weight and tossing her up and a few feet away from them. He laughs as she flails before dropping into the water, protecting his face as she comes flailing back to the surface, splashing in his general direction.

"Andrew Michael Flynn!" She screeches as she rights herself, a glare in her eyes and her hair soaking wet and stuck to her face.

"He told me to," Andy says, pointing at Ricky. All of the kids were giving each other the 'Dad's in trouble again' look. Sharon's face crumples and she sniffles as she turns tail and makes her way towards the shore. Andy's eyes widen in panic as he follows after her, "Shar…I'm sorry! I-I-I was just messing around."

"You don't always have to be so impulsive," Sharon says with a wet tone. After turning away from her husband her face had straightened up and a grin was playing over her lips as she baited him closer to shore. Once she gets a decent footing she turns on him, putting her weight on his shoulders and dunking him below the water. She holds her weight on him for just a moment before letting go, laughing as he sputters his way to the surface. He shakes his head to get the water off, giving her a wide eyed look.

"You played me."

"Maybe," Sharon smiles and shrugs one shoulder softly before continuing to walk out of the ocean. She makes her way back to their chairs and drops down into hers, grabbing one of the towels and starting to work it through her hair after she takes the clip out.

The group makes their way back to their hotel later in the afternoon, arriving in time to rinse off and head out to dinner. They made their way to a restaurant down the street, filling the kids full of dinner and desert after their long afternoon at the beach. By the time they were back the kids were dragging, ready to go to bed.

"I'll get them down," Sharon tells Andy, guiding the kids into their room.

"Alright, I'll be in in a minute to say goodnight," Andy replies, opening the door to their own room and slipping inside.

"Everyone in their pajamas," Sharon tells the kids as she lets them in. She drops down onto the end of one of the beds as they dig through their suitcases for their pajamas. They each take a turn in the bathroom, changing and brushing their teeth before climbing into bed. Sharon gets all of them tucked in as Andy walks in through the connecting door. He kisses each of the kids and tells them goodnight, making sure that the main door was locked before holding his hand out to Sharon. She gets up from the bed and takes his hand, telling the kids goodnight one more time before following him back into their room. He lets her walk through first, pulling the door closed behind them.

"Welcome to anniversary night," Andy says as he puts his hands on her waist. There were a few candles lit around the room and the table in the corner had a large bouquet of red and white roses sitting next to an artfully wrapped gift and a covered food tray.

"Andy," Sharon whispers, leaning into his hold as she looks around, "When did you…when did you even find time to do this?"

"I talked to the concierge this morning," Andy says, "They set it up while we were at dinner. Couldn't let the day go unnoticed, you've survived another year of putting up with me."

"Or maybe you survived another year of putting up with me," Sharon says as she turns around. She pushes up on her toes and presses her lips to Andy's, kissing him softly.

"Nah, I never have to put up with you. You're too great," Andy smiles and kisses her nose. He steps back from her embrace and puts his hand on her back, walking her over to the table. Sharon leans down and inhales the scent of the roses before fingering some of the petals.

"They are beautiful."

"Then they are perfect for you," Andy says as he plucks a white one out of the bunch, snapping off the majority of the stem before tucking the blossom on her ear. Sharon rolls her eyes as her cheeks flush. He winks before lifting the cover on the tray, "Cannoli. Zeppole. Chocolate sauce, caramel, and whipped cream. And strawberries."

"Explains why you refrained from dessert at dinner," Sharon grins. She grabs one of the strawberries and folds the stem and leafs back before she dips it into the chocolate. She hums as she finds the chocolate warm on her tongue, contrasting with the chilled strawberry as she bites through and chews, "That's good."

"Sounds like it," Andy murmurs as he watches her finish the treat. He steps back slightly and lifts up the box, holding it out to her, "For you."

"Mmm," Sharon hums as she surveys the package, taking in it's size and weight, "You didn't bring anything with us…and you didn't have a box with you when we left Paris."

"Right."

"I knew you weren't just out to get the paper this morning," Sharon narrows her eyes with a smirk. She sets the box down and pulls the bow apart, draping the silk over her shoulder before her nails slip under the paper and she tears it away from the box. Her eyes widen as she looks at the name stamped on the box, turning it to face her properly before she lifts the lid and gasps at the contents. Inside was a pair of Italian, handmade, black suede ankle booties.

"You don't think I just happened to walk you by that shoe store yesterday do you?" Andy asks with a smile and his hands stuffed in his pockets as he watches the joy spread across her face.

"You are…too sneaky," Sharon says as she shakes her head, reaching in to grab one of the boots, "They're so soft."

"Third anniversary is leather. I was really going back and forth on what to get you," Andy says, "I thought about a purse, a wallet, maybe a jacket…but while we were in Paris, I thought shoes. And the Italian in me couldn't knowingly buy you French shoes, even the ones with the fancy red bottoms. That would be an outrage…"

"I love them," Sharon tells him with a wide smile as she puts the boot in her hand back before stepping closer to him and throwing her arms around his neck, "They're perfect."

"You haven't even tried them on," Andy points out.

"I'll get there," Sharon says as she walks Andy back towards the bed with a desire filled gleam in her eyes, "I want to give you your present first."

* * *

[TBC]


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter - please keep dropping me a line so I know what you guys are thinking!

* * *

Andy steps out onto the back porch, setting the tray of hot dogs in his hand down on the table next to the grill as he looks out at the back yard. They had gotten back from vacation the weekend before and now Ricky was celebrating his birthday and had a group of friends over. The kids, including Emily, Charlie, and Nicole, were running around the back yard playing, Lily chasing after them. He looks over as Sharon steps out with a jug of lemonade in her hand, surveying the scene for a moment before she turns to Andy and smiles.

"Hi."

"Hi," Andy smiles, leaning down and giving her a kiss, "Do you need me to bring anything else out?"

"No, this is it. I'll get the cake later," Sharon replies as she gestures to the finger foods laid out on the table next to the pile of presents that had been brought for the boy. She reaches out and grabs one of the hot dogs, taking a bite off the end as Andy starts laying them out on the grill. He arches his eyebrow as he looks at her and she does a double take as she notices his gaze, "What?"

"Hot dogs?"

" _What?_ "

"You don't eat hot dogs," Andy points out.

"Not true, I'm eating one right now," Sharon says as she takes another bite before grabbing the bottle of ketchup off of the table and squeezing some onto the piece of food in her hand.

"Regardless of that, I literally don't know that I've ever seen you eat a hot dog before."

"Dodger dogs," Sharon points out.

"Oh yeah," Andy nods, thinking about the last time they went to a game. Baseball brought out the junk foodie in her. Sharon smiles as she finishes the hot dog before wiping her fingers off on a napkin. She picks on a couple other pieces of food before calling the kids over for lunch. She gets all of them set up with hot dogs and sides, making herself her own plate before taking a seat on the porch swing next to Andy.

"So after they eat we'll do cake and presents and then they should all be picked up by three," She tells her husband.

"Sounds good," Andy replies smiling at her with a wink. Sharon swipes her tongue over her bottom lip, clearing a drop of ketchup before she leans over and kisses Andy.

"I love you," Sharon murmurs against his lips, kissing him again, "And thank you for your help today."

"I love you too. You don't have to thank me."

"I want to," Sharon replies, the corner of her mouth lifting in a small smile as she runs her fingers through his hair before returning to her food. Andy helps clean the kids up after they finish their lunch, carrying plates and food inside as Sharon puts the finishing touches on the cake. She pokes six candles into the top and carefully lights them before picking up the platter and carrying it outside.

The group sings Happy Birthday to Ricky as Sharon sets the cake down in front of the boy. She smiles as his brown eyes widen, taking in the chocolate monstrosity his mother had placed before him. Each of the kids enjoyed a different kind of cake. Ricky was partial to a chocolate and chocolate combination. Emily liked strawberry and vanilla, Nicole leaned towards white with chocolate, and Charlie loved Red Velvet. But put a slice of anything in front of them, they sucked it up in a matter of moments.

Ricky blows out his candles after everyone finishes singing. Sharon pulls the candles out, letting him lick the frosting and cake off of the ends as she cuts up the cake and puts slices on plates for each of the kids. She takes the cake off of the table once she finishes serving, taking the candles from Ricky before heading inside. Setting the cake on the counter Sharon grabs herself one of the small paper plates, cutting off a piece for herself. She steps back outside and grabs a fork off of the table, offering the first bite to Andy.

"Mmm, that's good," Andy says around the cake in his mouth, "Where did you learn to bake?"

"My grandma," Sharon smiles as she takes a bite for herself, "Summers with Grandma were full of baked goods."

"She taught you well," Andy compliments, leaning over to take another bite.

"There's a whole cake in the kitchen."

"But this is right here," Andy grins as he licks frosting off of his lips. Sharon offers him a playful narrow eyed look as she turns away from him with her cake, finishing the rest of the slice herself. Pressing a kiss to the top of Ricky's head she asks if he was ready to open presents.

"Yes please!" Ricky grins as he looks up at her.

"Alright," Sharon smiles back, ruffling his hair before going to the stack of presents and starting to hand them over. Andy helps the boy read the cards and makes sure he says thank you to each person after opening their present. Most of the haul was toys, some books, movies, and games made it into the grab as well.

"I can start picking up if you want to go in?" Andy offers after they send the kids inside to play. Their parents would be by soon to pick them up and it would be easier to wrangle them from the living room than the back yard.

"No, no, no, no," Sharon shakes her head, taking the trash bag from him, "You get to go inside this time."

"Damn," Andy grumbles, "You can't blame me for trying."

"No, I suppose I can't," Sharon winks before starting to pick up stray wrapping paper and throw away paper plates and cups. By the time she has everything picked up and moved inside the doorbell starts to ring as parents begin to show up. Sharon looks at her watch after the last kid leaves, smiling at Andy, "2:59."

"Right on time," He replies as he leans down to kiss her. The kids were sitting around the tv playing a game on the Super Nintendo they all shared. It was one of the few times they would play together quietly without someone inevitably getting injured.

Andy takes the garbage bags out to the trashcans in the garage before heading out back to finish cleaning up their mess. Once he's done he calls Lily in and shuts the sliding glass door, stuffing the last little bit of trash into the kitchen garbage can. Sharon was packing up the leftovers into individual containers, putting everything back into the fridge. He watches, amused, as she finishes with the leftovers and cuts herself off another slice of the cake before putting the cover on the tray and setting it off to the side, doing a quick wipe down of the counter. She grabs a fork and turns around, jumping as she finds him staring at her with a glint in his brown eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Andy says as he holds his hands up, backing out of the kitchen. She didn't need to know about the calendar he had hidden in his sock drawer reminding him which days of the month to pick up something chocolate on the way home and be a little less stupid at work.

"Damn right nothing," Sharon grumbles as she follows behind him. The two of them drop onto the couch and enjoy a moment of silence as they watch the kids play, "Did you have a good party today, baby?"

"Yeah," Ricky nods, tearing his eyes away from the screen for a moment as he smiles at his mother, "Lots of fun."

"Good," Sharon smiles back before beckoning him over, "Come're."

"What?"

"Come here," Sharon says again, waving him over. Ricky drops his controller before getting up and walking over to the couch. Sharon sets her cake off to the side and pulls the boy into her lap, "Oh my lord, when did you get so big?"

"You tell me I get bigger every day!"

"You do," Sharon smiles and peppers the boy's face with kisses, laughing as he tries to fend her off before bursting into giggles himself. She presses a big kiss to his cheek as she squeezes him close, "Oh. I love you, you know that?"

"I love you too, Momma," Ricky says sweetly. Andy watches as his wife gives the boy a watery smile while swiping his unruly hair out of his face. The boy was her baby and he knew as much as it pained her to watch any of them grow up, it was even rougher as Ricky continued to grow by leaps and bounds, definitely no longer the six pound baby boy they brought home six years ago.

 _Four weeks later…_

Sharon groans as she hears the phone ringing on the bedside table. Since they had been back from vacation she'd been given her share of overnight on call shifts, covering for other summer vacations, as well as a little payback for taking the two weeks off in the first place. Most of the time they didn't amount to anything, the rest of the time she ended up dragging herself out of bed at some ungodly hour to go spend three straight days at the office. She reaches out and grabs the offending device, grimacing at the screen as she fumbles for the talk button before answering.

"Mm hello?" She mumbles as she reaches up to wipe the sleep from her eyes, "Yeah...yeah...give me half an hour."

She hangs up the phone and sighs as she lays in bed for a moment before pushing herself up. She rubs her hand over her stomach, sighing as she feels a wave of nausea roll over. Her stomach had been on edge for a a few days, more than a week if she was honest. At first she thought she'd just eaten something funny, she _had_ taken a chance on some egg salad in the break room fridge that she couldn't exactly remembering bringing in. After a couple days passed and she still felt terrible she figured she'd gotten a stomach bug from one of the kids. At this point she knew something else was going on, she just didn't know what, and going up and down and getting in and out of bed was not helping anything. Shaking her head, she pushes herself out of bed and gets ready for work before leaning down next to Andy's side of the bed.

"Honey?" Sharon whispers as she touches his shoulder.

"Mmm?" Andy hums, not opening his eyes, only the tilt of his head telling her that he was paying attention.

"I have to go in," Sharon says, "You'll have to get the kids to school."

"Okay," Andy mumbles, "Good night. Love you."

"I love you too," Sharon murmurs before pressing a kiss to his head and slipping out of their room. She stops at the front door and puts her shoes on, grabbing her gun and badge from the safe in the front closet before heading out of the house, making sure to lock the door behind herself.

Making her way to the scene she had been called to Sharon pulls under the tape before parking the car and getting out. She shakes her head as she feels her stomach rolling again, powering through as she walks up to the officers huddled together. Flashing her badge she starts to talk to them, issuing orders to the other officers that were there as her backup before starting to walk the scene. She talks to the SID officers for a couple moments before walking towards the bodies that were covered with a sheet.

Sharon kneels down next to the bodies and lifts the sheet, looking them over before she hears shouting coming from behind her. Lowering the sheet, she pushes herself back into a standing position and turns around to face the officer that was walking towards her. She recognized the face screwed up in anger, someone she had met once or twice that worked in Andy's division, but couldn't recall his name at the moment. He was immediately up in her face and yelling, spittle flying out of his mouth and spraying her glasses.

Finding herself unable to focus around the sound of blood rushing in her ears, Sharon upends her stomach contents all over the officer's shoes. She gags a few times before standing up and looking at the officer with wide eyes as she wipes her mouth off. She could see he was getting ready to snap, but before he could lash out her eyes promptly roll back in her head and she crumples to the ground.

"Officer down!" One of Sharon's coworkers calls out as he rushes over. Her face was completely ashen and there was a small gash above her eyebrow that was gushing, "Shit…Flynn is going to kill me."

* * *

[TBC]


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes:** Thanks to those that reviewed the last chapter! Always great to hear from everyone and glad I can still surprise you :)

* * *

"Mmm," Andy groans, his brow furrowing as he hears the phone ringing. He rolls over towards Sharon's side of the bed, reaching out and picking it up, "Hello?"

"Sergeant Flynn?"

"Yeah, that's me," Andy says as he sits up on his elbow, rubbing his eyes, "What's up?"

"Lieutenant O'Dwyer, uh…" Andy perks up at the mention of Sharon's name, sitting up fully, "She passed out at the scene that we're at…"

"Where are you?" Andy asks as he kicks the sheets aside and gets out of bed, rushing to grab the first clothes he can lay his hands on.

"We were rolled out to Robertson and Olympic. EMS is looking her over right now…"

"I'll be there in twenty," Andy says before hanging up the call and dialing another number. Their next door neighbor that had moved in the year before had two kids Emily's age in the same school. She had offered her services to keep an eye on the kids if they both ever needed to be rolled out at the same time, "Hi, Dana sorry for calling so late. They're in bed, I'm hoping I'll be back before they are up. I'll have my pager on me…thanks."

Andy hangs up the phone and grabs his car keys before heading out of the house and down to the scene. He parks his car outside of the tape and gets out, ducking under with a practiced ease before sprinting over to the ambulance where Sharon was seated on the edge being looked over by a pair of EMTs.

"I'm not going to the hospital," Sharon says from behind the oxygen mask that was sitting over her nose and mouth. Her glasses were sitting in her lap, one of the lenses cracked and arms bent from her impact with the ground.

"Your head is going to need actual stitches and you're severely dehydrated," The medic tells her as he tapes a pack against the cut on her head.

"I'm not goi…"

"Yes you are," Andy says as he steps closer. He was surprised at how pale and fragile she looked. Had she looked that way a few hours before when they had gotten into bed together? He watches as Sharon narrows her eyes at him, opening her mouth to retort before pulling the mask away from her face and throwing up into the small bin she was holding in her lap. Most of her stomach issues up to this point had been incessant nausea that had her eating less and less. She'd only thrown up a couple times, but tonight seemed to be the pinnacle and she could barely keep even her stomach acid down at this point.

"Let's get her prepped to move," The medic who was taping up her head tells the other one, the two of them helping her onto a gurney and attaching a couple monitors. One starts an IV of fluids, making Sharon wince as he stabs the back of her hand before taping the needle and tubing down. Andy moves to climb in next to them, but is stopped by the medic.

"You can't come with us sir, you'll have to follow behind."

"Where are you taking her?"

"Cedars," The medic says before slamming the door shut. Andy sighs and runs back over to the car, turning the engine over and following behind the ambulance as they drive. He pulls into a parking spot at the Emergency entrance, walking through some short bushes as the ambulance parks and the medics start to unload Sharon. They rush her inside with the gaggle of nurses and doctors that had been waiting and Andy follows behind them at a close pace, reaching out to grab Sharon's hand before a nurse stops him at the inner ER doors.

"Sir, you can't go back there right now."

"She's my wife, why can't I?" Andy protests loudly, all he wanted to do was talk to Sharon and see what was going on.

"You can't go back right now, once the doctor has looked her over you can go back," The nurse reiterates, clapping a clipboard to his chest, "You can fill out these forms while you wait."

Andy growls and nods, retreating to a chair in the waiting room before starting to fill out the forms the nurse had given him. He fills out the things he can before handing the forms in at the check-in desk.

"Do you know how much longer it's supposed to be?"

"It'll probably be about another hour or so," The nurse tells him with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks," Andy sighs as he slumps down in the chair again, his knee bouncing up and down as he waits. Each time the doors open and a doctor steps out he perks up only to sigh and sink back down when they call out someone else's name. It's a couple hours later before a doctor comes out and calls his name out. He jumps up and walks across the waiting room to the doctor, "I'm with Sharon, how's she doing?"

"She's doing okay," The doctor tells Andy as he walks him back to where Sharon was being kept, "We stitched up the cut on her eyebrow. Right now we're giving her some fluids, she was severely dehydrated when she was bought in and at first glance she's anemic as well. We're running a couple blood panels to see the extent of the issue."

"Does it seem like it might be something serious?"

"It could just be a stomach bug," The doctor shrugs as he pulls the curtain on Sharon's cubicle back. She had been changed into a hospital gown and was dozing quietly in the bed, only a little color returned to her cheeks, "It'll be a little bit before we get the results back but you can sit with her while we wait."

"Thanks," Andy says before pulling up a chair next to the bed. He reaches out and takes Sharon's hand, squeezing it gently, "Hey trouble."

"Hey," Sharon smiles as she opens her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Andy asks, reaching up to brush a curl out of her face.

"Nauseous," Sharon admits, "Though I think the IV's helping a bit."

"What's been going on?"

"I don't know," Sharon murmurs, "It's been the last week or so. It's been mostly nausea until tonight…I can barely keep anything down."

"The last week!? Why didn't you say anything?" Andy questions as he gets out of his chair, pacing the length of the small cubicle.

"I thought it was just food poisoning," Sharon says with a sigh as her eyes track back and forth, watching him, "Then it kept on...I was supposed to go to the doctor tomorrow."

"Still, I can't believe you wouldn't tell me about something like that," Andy says, his brow furrowing, "What if it's something serious?"

"You know how I get when I'm sick, and I know how you get when I'm sick," Sharon tells him, "The hovering doesn't do anything but irritate both of us by the time I'm healthy again, and sometimes I just want to avoid it. It's probably nothing, something one of the kids brought home."

"It's not nothing!" Andy exclaims, "You're dehydrated and anemic, you passed out at work..."

"Andy!" Sharon raises her voice to get his attention. He stops mid-step and his shoulders slump as he looks at her laying in the hospital bed. They had talked about something happening to one of them, yet any time they talked about it it was always work related. Quick, but never painless. But what if it was something more serious? Sharon reaches her hand out to her husband, curling her fingers around his as he steps closer, "Andy, I'll be fine…really."

"You better be, I'm not ready to live without you," Andy murmurs as he kisses her hand before sitting back down next to her bed. He waits a beat before speaking, "You threw up all over Robertson's shoes?"

"Oh god," Sharon groans, closing her eyes as she covers her face with her hands, "I'm never going to live this down."

"Don't worry I think your reputation as a hard ass will stay in tact…people will just be afraid of you spewing all over them," Andy teases with a smile. Sharon turns her head to look at him with narrowed eyes, glaring softly, "Kidding."

"Sure you are," Sharon murmurs, offering him a small smile before squeezing his hand as they wait for the doctor. After a little bit longer a nurse comes in and starts unhooking Sharon from some of the monitors.

"What are you doing?" Sharon asks.

"Doctor Benton wants to admit you. We're moving you up to the ninth floor," The nurse explains as another comes in and helps her get Sharon prepped to move, "He was going over your results and should meet us in your room."

Andy gives Sharon a worried look as he takes her hand again as they transfer her to a portable bed. She squeezes his hand reassuringly with a weak smile as they wheel her upstairs to a permanent room. The nurses get her settled in bed again and update her chart before the doctor comes in with a folder.

"Feeling any better, Sharon?"

"A little bit," Sharon says as she shifts her position in bed, getting more comfortable as she leans against the pillows, "I'm guessing you know what's wrong?"

"I hope so," Andy grumbles as he stands next to the bed, his arms crossed over his chest.

"We do," The doctor nods, reviewing the results one more time, "Sharon, I believe what you're suffering from is hyperemesis gravidarum."

"Hyper-what-what?" Andy says as the doctor spits out the technical term.

"Hyperemesis gravidarum," The doctor repeats again at a slower pace, "It's a technical term for severe morning sickness; it ends up causing weight loss, dehydration, some other metabolic issues. Which is why I wanted to admit you."

* * *

[TBC]


	8. Chapter 8

**Sass Alert** : I'm only going to say this once, but apparently the last couple chapters have rustled some jimmies.

This is a third fic in a series where Sharon has been pregnant before, and I apologize if you think by it happening again (at a much more normal age than other fics where it comes up) ruins the fic. I appreciate those of you that let me know this wasn't your cup of tea nicely, I would invite you to maybe come back in a few chapters or maybe the next installment if you don't want to deal with this particular portion of the arc.

For others, there's no need to be rude. This has nothing to do with "I don't know what to write", I've been laying the groundwork for this since the last installment and I have more plans for it down the line than "just another kid", sorry if that wasn't obvious.

I also appreciate those that stuck up for me, and those who continue to leave reviews for the story. I love hearing from you guys!

*end rant*

For those of you still around - please enjoy.

* * *

"Sorry, what?" Sharon says, looking up at Andy with wide eyes and a confused look on her face before looking at the doctor, "You said morning sickness, I don't have morning sickness. I _can't_ have morning sickness. I can't be pregnant."

"You didn't know you were pregnant?" The doctor says, arching his eyebrow.

"You're not listening," Sharon argues, "I can't be."

"I got a vasectomy," Andy offers.

"Oh. Well…" The doctor says, clearing his throat as he looks down at the chart.

"I'm not cheating on him," Sharon declares at the same time as Andy says, "She's not cheating on me."

"Right, right, of course. There are cases of reconnection, which basically renders the process moot to some degree," The doctor offers, lifting his eyes from the chart and looking over at Andy, "Did you ever go for your follow up appointment?"

"Follow up appointment?" Andy questions.

"Your urologist should have had you come back once, if not twice, to test your sperm count after the procedure. Make sure that the procedure worked."

"Of course he went," Sharon says, "I remember setting the appointment myself while he was in with the doctor…"

"Ah…" Andy screws up his face in thought and rubs the back of his head, "I don't know that I did…."

"You _what_?" Sharon says as she turns her eyes on him, fire burning in their green depths, "Andrew Michael Flynn!"

"I didn't know that's what it was for!" Andy exclaims defending himself, "I didn't want the guy poking around my balls anymore!"

"Anyway," Doctor Benton interjects, stopping Sharon as she opens her mouth to retort. He watches interested as the woman in front of him clamps her mouth shut and continues to stare daggers at her husband, "We're going to keep you here for a day at least, get you rehydrated and see if maybe we can't keep some food down. I'm going to send someone from OB over to take a look at you since you haven't been to see your personal physician yet. I'll be back to check on you throughout the evening."

"Thank you, doctor," Sharon says as she tears her angry glare away from Andy, offering a smile to the doctor in front of her, "I appreciate it."

"No problem," Doctor Benton says, offering Sharon a warm smile before giving Andy a look that said he was glad he wasn't in his shoes and heading out of the room. Sharon closes her eyes and lets out a long sigh, reaching up to rub her temples, her head was throbbing between the nausea, the dehydration, and Andy's admittance that he hadn't gone for the appointment.

"I'll make an appointment for later this week to go and see what's going on," Andy speaks up after a couple moments of silence.

"Little bit late," Sharon rebuts, using the remote on the bed to turn the overhead lights off before closing her eyes again and dropping her head back against the pillows. Her hand subconsciously drifts across her stomach as she hears the heart monitor's beeps pick up while a clammy fist closes around her heart. She'd known that something was up when she started getting sick, but never expected that she would be pregnant. Though it did manage to explain how her pants and skirts seemed to be getting tighter while she was losing weight.

Andy shuffles closer to the bed and drops down into the chair there, watching Sharon with a careful eye. He knew she was already terrified about anything happening. And the last time they had been in this position was five years ago, neither of them creeping up on 40, hardly prime time to be expanding their family anymore. They had all of the kids in school, they had settled into a routine. They sit in silence until the obstetrician knocks on the door to the room about an hour later. Sharon opens her eyes and offers a smile at the younger woman as she sits up a bit more.

"Mrs. Flynn?"

"Sharon, please," Sharon says as she lifts her arm for the doctor to check the wristband she'd been given earlier in the evening.

"Alright, Sharon, can you confirm your birthdate for me?"

"February 28th, 1958," Sharon replies.

"Perfect," The doctor smiles, marking down a couple things on her chart, "I am Doctor Dixon, Doctor Benton asked me to come take a look at you and see how things are going. He mentioned that you hadn't been to your personal physician yet?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head, "I had a physical a few months ago before we went on vacation, but that was the last time."

"Okay, first day of your last period?"

"Um, it's been spotty lately," Sharon says, "I would say that my last full one was probably February…the 15th. I had some really light spotting in May on the 9th…three days at the most."

"Perfect," The doctor says, writing down the information before looking at the test results in Sharon's chart, "If you don't mind I'd like to do a pelvic exam and an ultrasound."

"Of course," Sharon nods. Andy gnaws at his thumbnail as Sharon moves down to the end of the bed before putting her legs up. He sits quietly as the doctor performs her exam, looking Sharon over entirely once more for her own curiosity.

"Everything looks good from this aspect," Doctor Dixon comments as she makes a couple notes, "Let me go grab the ultrasound machine and I'll be right back."

"Sure," Sharon watches as she leaves before reaching out towards Andy to take his hand. He curls his fingers around her small hand, squeezing tightly as he brings it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Andy opens his mouth to speak, but is cut off by the doctor returning with the ultrasound machine. She wheels it up next to the bed and pulls a stool over to sit down on. She turns the machine on before starting to prepare the wand for the exam.

"Have you had an internal ultrasound before?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods as she shifts her position taking a deep breath, "Couple times."

"Good, then you'll be familiar," The doctor says before inserting the wand slowly. She focuses on the screen before she stops. She flexes her wrist as she moves it around slightly taking in the results herself as she moves. Sharon watches her face with apprehension, tightening her grip around Andy's hand. He squeezes back gently and leans down to press a soft kiss to her head.

"How are things looking, Doc?" Andy asks, voicing the question he knew his wife wanted to ask.

"Things are looking great," The doctor answers after another moment, turning the screen to face the two of them, "Based on what you told me and the measurements that I'm seeing, I would put you at around eight weeks and you would be due around the middle of February. And…you're having twins."

"What?" Sharon's eyes snap away from the doctor to look at the screen, an incredulous arch to her eyebrow.

"Twins. We've got baby number one over here," Doctor Dixon gestures to the left side of the screen, adjusting the wand slightly before moving her hand, "And baby number two over here."

"Two?" Sharon whispers.

"Mmhm, it can be more common in older women," The doctor explains reaching over to turn on the audio so they could hear the heartbeats beating along quickly in contrast to Sharon's slower one, "While you're hardly headed for the retirement home, women over the age of 35 are considered to be of what we call 'advanced maternal age'. It just means a little bit more monitoring, more frequent appointments, and genetic testing would be offered as well."

"Oh my god," Sharon murmurs, reaching out to touch the screen. She strokes her fingertips over the small blobs, taking in the shadows and highlights that made up their forms. The doctor prints off a couple pictures before turning the machine off and removing the wand.

"You'll want to follow up with your personal physician once you're released," The doctor explains, handing Sharon the pictures, "But from what I can tell everyone looks healthy and as long as we can get this hyperemesis under control, I don't foresee many issues. I'll stop by once or twice more before your released probably just to check in. Okay?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods, distracted by the black and white photo in her hand, "Thank you."

"Get some rest," The doctor orders with a playful tone before wheeling the machine out of the room and closing the door behind herself. Sharon stares at the picture for a moment longer before she starts to laugh. Andy's eyebrow arches as stifled giggles turn into full blown guffaws and he watches a tear roll down her cheek from laughing so hard.

"Ah…honey?"

"I'm sorry!" Sharon manages to get out as she tries to put the lid on her laughter. She fans herself with her hand as she lets out a couple straggling giggles, "Oh my god…"

"You wanna clue me into the giggle fit?"

"This is so absurd!" Sharon exclaims, laughing again with a snort making its way out, "I mean…we made it almost five years. You've had a vasectomy, I'm almost forty. And not only are we pregnant, we're pregnant with _twins_."

"I don't know that I'm ready for the mood swings," Andy comments. Sharon laughs and shakes her head, letting out a couple soft chuckles before holding the piece of paper out to her husband. He sighs as he looks down at it, taking in the shapes much as she had earlier, "They look perfect."

"They do," Sharon agrees, letting out a small yawn. She was exhausted, still nauseous, and it was almost five in the morning, "Go home. Get the kids to school…just tell them I'm at work and you can bring them by later."

"Shar…" Andy says, looking at her as he sets the picture on her table tray.

"What?"

"I don't want to leave you," Andy admits.

"I'll be fine," Sharon assures him, lifting three fingers, "Scout's honor."

"You promise?"

"Promise," Sharon says. Andy sighs and nods, pushing up from the chair. He helps her lower the bed back to a lying position, leaving it a bit elevated to help with her nausea. He fluffs out the blankets and her pillow before bracing his hands on the mattress as he leans over her, looking her in the eyes. She reaches up and brushes his hair back from his face before stroking his cheek and pulling him down for a soft kiss, "I promise."

"Okay. I'll see you later," Andy tells her, pressing a kiss to her forehead before straightening up to leave the room, turning the light off on his way out. Sharon sighs as she settles down in bed, taking a few minutes to find a comfortable position before she begins to drift off with her arm slung protectively over her stomach.

* * *

[TBC]


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes:** Great to hear from everyone! A bit of a shorter chapter, but addressing some conversations...

* * *

"Alright, so. We have some vitamins. You'll take half in the morning and half in the afternoon. Hopefully by splitting it up we shouldn't have any issues with creating more nausea. You're going to stick to bland food; regular milk, bananas, potatoes, baked chicken or fish, steamed vegetables, toast…"

"Yeah," Sharon nods as she takes the bottle of vitamins, "Boring food, no spices, low fat…"

"Right," Doctor Benton smiles, "We did a good amount of rehydration for you with the IV over the last day. You'll want to stay on top of liquid consumption. Water definitely, but I would also suggest picking up something with electrolytes in it. Gatorade or even Pedialyte works. You've set up an appointment with your personal physician?"

"On Thursday," Sharon supplies.

"Okay. If you have any bouts like you did when you were admitted before then, don't hesitate to come back in, alright?"

"I'll bring her myself," Andy says from his spot next to the bed Sharon was sitting on the edge of.

"You, hush," Sharon says, throwing him a look before looking at the doctor. He was still in a moderate amount of trouble and she was currently deciding on how to punish him, "If I have any issues before Thursday I'll make sure to come back in."

"And she can probably remove those stitches for you as well, they should be ready to come out by then. Any questions?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head.

"Sounds good," The doctor hands her a packet of papers before stepping out of her way, "You are free to go."

"Thank you, Doctor Benton," Sharon says as she slips off the edge of the bed, picking up her purse.

"Ah, wheelchair required," The doctor says, indicating the chair in the corner.

"Right," Sharon sighs and sinks down in the chair, pulling her purse onto her lap. Andy grabs the back of the chair and wheels her out into the hall, making his way towards the elevator. She leans forward and presses the down button, resting her head on her hand.

"Store first or do you want me to drop you off at home?" Andy asks as they wait.

"Home, please. I am exhausted," Sharon admits. Once the elevator dings and the doors open he pushes her in, turning around before pressing the button for the ground floor. When they reach the front door he stops the wheelchair and offers a hand out to her to help her up. She reaches up and takes his hand, pulling herself up from the chair before letting go and following him out to the car. Andy helps her get settled in the passenger side before rounding to the drivers side and getting in himself.

After dropping Sharon off at home Andy heads to the store, picking up some extra groceries for her new diet. He stops at the floral department and spends a moment looking at the flowers, picking up various bouquets before putting them back. He sighs as he runs his fingers through his hair, his jaw clenching before he picks up a bouquet of peonies. They were meant to be yellow, but were trending more on the peach side. They would be perfect.

Andy finishes his shopping and heads home. He looks over the back of the couch when he steps inside, finding Sharon sleeping peacefully. Lily was settled between her legs with her head resting on Sharon's hip, snoozing away as well. He quietly puts all of the food away before unwrapping the flowers and putting them into a vase with some water. He sets them down on the coffee table in the living room, putting her bottle of vitamins and a large glass of water next to it. He sits on the edge of the table and watches her sleep for a few moments. Sharon hums and shifts her position as Andy reaches out to brush a lock of hair out of her face. It was shorter, much shorter. She'd cut most of it off after they'd gotten home from Europe. Now it barely brushed her shoulder and was a more solid, brighter version of her natural auburn. It was taking some getting used to. He pulls his hand back and sighs softly before getting up and going to occupy himself.

Later in the evening, after putting Emily and Ricky to bed with assurances that Sharon was fine and on the mend, Andy finds himself propped up against the headboard with a book in his lap. Sharon was in the bathroom going through her regular bedtime routine. Besides talking to the kids once they were home from school and practices, she hadn't said much. He knew he was in trouble, and as he stared at the pages in front of him, his brain not absorbing the words, he couldn't figure out how much. She hadn't tossed him out to the couch, so he figured it couldn't be too bad. But the not talking made him think it was worse than it was.

He was so lost in thought that the first time the pillow made impact with his face he could only stare at Sharon, dumbstruck. He hadn't even heard her come out of the bathroom. The pillow quickly makes contact with his face three more times, each swing punctuated with a portion of his name.

"I can't believe you got me pregnant!" Sharon says, glaring at him, giving him another thwack with the pillow for good measure.

"Stop hitting me!"

"Stop knocking me up!" Sharon retorts. She lets out a frustrated breath and hugs the pillow to her chest, piling it up to rest her chin on. Andy closes his book and tosses it on his bedside table before turning his attention over to her, "I can't believe you never went to that appointment."

"I didn't know what it was for," Andy says, explaining again, "I thought it was to look at the incision, everything was fine. I have a limit of people looking at the guys that aren't you, and I hit the decade's limit in the two appointments that I did have."

"You'll be lucky if I ever look at the guys again let alone touch them," Sharon grumbles as she leans back against the headboard. She blows a piece of hair out of her face and looks over at the picture on her bedside table. It was from their most recent vacation, the two of them with the kids in front of St Peter's Basilica, "Do you know how much money this is going to cost? Two more college educations, braces, school, sports…where are we even going to put them!? The kids are sharing rooms as it is, we can't ask them to share with babies."

"We'll figure something out," Andy says, trying to placate her.

"And how are we going to take them anywhere? Ricky has to ride in the middle in the front if we all go anywhere already! We can't cram two carseats into the car. Oh my god!"

"Don't act like I just climbed on top of you and magically got you pregnant," Andy says. Sharon pulls her eyes away from the picture and looks at him with narrow eyes, her eyebrow arched, "Probably not the best way that could have come out."

"Probably not."

"All I'm saying is," Andy replies, dropping back against his own pillows, folding his hands over his stomach, "It takes two to tango…and we tango pretty well."

"Oh god," Sharon snorts, rolling her eyes with a laugh, hitting him with the pillow again. She rolls over and lays on top of him, the pillow squished between them as she looks into his eyes, "Go to the urologist. Get your junk taken care of for good this time."

"What makes you think that's going to change anything? I mean if my sperm are this super…" Andy trails off as Sharon slams a hand over his mouth.

"Do not finish that sentence," She threatens, watching as his eyes crinkle as he grins under her hand. She pulls her hand back and he wraps his arm around her, rubbing her back gently.

"You feeling better?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head before rolling onto her side of the bed, sighing as she props herself up again, "I could probably throw up on you at the drop of a hat. Though the fact that the plain chicken and pasta for dinner is staying down is probably good."

"Probably," Andy says as he rolls onto his side and props his head up on his hand.

"What do we tell the kids?" Sharon asks as she looks over at him.

"Stick with stomach issues until we're out of the woods?" Andy offers with a shrug, "Let's just wait until the appointment on Thursday. See where we're at after that?"

"Right," Sharon nods and sighs before groaning and curling up on her side.

"What?"

"I've spent _years_ telling Emily and your mother and _my_ mother and…" Sharon shakes her head, "Practically _everyone_ , that we weren't having more kids."

"Things change," Andy murmurs as he shuffles closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back to his chest. He rests his hands on her stomach and presses a kiss to her shoulder, "We will figure all of this out, I promise. We always do."

"Yeah, I know, I know," Sharon sighs, snuggling back against him. She threads her fingers with his and squeezes his hand before reaching out with her other hand to turn the light off, "I love you."

"I love you too," Andy responds as he squeezes her tight for a moment before loosening his hold.

"Don't let go," Sharon whispers and closes her eyes. Andy lies awake for a while, listening to her sleep before his eyes start to droop shut and he ends up drifting off as well.

* * *

[TBC]


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes:** Glad people got a kick out of Sharon and Andy's conversation! Please continue to read and review. Enjoy! :)

* * *

They managed to keep the pregnancy from the kids for another two weeks. Up until that point the kids had been on board with Sharon having a stomach bug being why she had been eating a special diet and spent most of her time green around the gills. But the big reveal was all simply a matter of forgetting to make a list when they last went to the grocery store and the usual hectic life of having four kids that sometimes didn't know patience.

"Mom!" Emily yells out as she stands on a step stool in the kitchen, shuffling through the cabinet next to the fridge, "Charlie ate the last vitamin!"

"I did not," Charlie protests as he sets the table for breakfast.

"You did too. There isn't another bottle!" Emily grumbles, "And it was a blue one too…"

"Just take one of your mom's," Charlie says.

"Mom!" Emily yells out again, "Can I have one of your vitamins?"

"Why are you yelling?" Sharon asks as she comes into the kitchen, still bundled in her robe.

"Charlie ate the last vitamin, can I have one of yours?" Emily asks. She reaches out and grabs the larger white bottle, starting to unscrew the cap.

"No," Sharon says taking the bottle from Emily and screwing the lid back on, before reaching up to put it back in the cupboard.

"Why?"

"Because those are specifically for adults," Sharon tells her daughter as she lifts her down from the stool and shuts the cupboard door, "Charlie, what do you want for breakfast this morning?"

"Pancakes," Charlie requests as he sets the last plate down. Sharon starts to get the stuff out to make breakfast for the family, side stepping Ricky as he chases Lily out into the back yard. She reaches up to grab a bowl to mix the batter in as Nicole comes in.

"But there's a baby on the bottle," Emily says, "Why would they put a baby on the bottle if they're for adults?"

"Can we have chocolate chips?" Charlie asks.

"Of course, will you get them out?"

"Sharon, do you know where my blue polka dot shirt is?" Nicole asks, shoving Charlie as he walks by her to get the chocolate chips out of the pantry.

"Don't shove your brother. It's…"

"Mom! Why can't I have one of the vitamins?" Emily whines.

"Emily!" Sharon snaps, "You are not going to wither away if you don't take a vitamin this morning. Nicole, your shirt is in…"

"Mommmmmmmm," Emily whines, stomping her foot.

"Momma!" Ricky exclaims as he runs into the house, holding up a soccer ball at Sharon.

"Hang on honey," Sharon says as she takes the ball, "Laundry, the shirt is in the laundry. Emily Eileen, I swear…"

"Momma, Lily peed on my ball," Ricky says, tugging on Sharon's robe, "I need you to wash it."

Sharon's face pales and she drops the ball to the floor before turning to the sink and throwing up. The kids all look at each other before yelling out at the same time.

"DAD!" Andy's heavy footfall makes its way towards the kitchen at a brisk pace. He turns the corner and rolls his eyes as he sees all four of the kids standing in a circle around Sharon as she brings her stomach contents up again.

"What is going on here?" Andy asks.

"We're out of vitamins."

"I got chocolate chips."

"I was looking for my shirt."

"Lily peed on my ball," Ricky says. Andy snaps his hands back from picking up the ball and sighs, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Take that back outside, and wash your hands," Andy tells Ricky, "I will take the chocolate chips. Your shirt is in the laundry. And you aren't going to wither away without a vitamin today. Go watch tv or something until breakfast is ready."

"What's wrong with Mom?" Emily asks

"We've told you she's got a stomach thing…" Andy stops when he feels Sharon's hand on his arm. He turns and watches as she rinses her mouth out before rinsing the sink and washing her hands. She sighs as she turns around and leans against the counter top, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her robe.

"Let's just tell them," Sharon says.

"You sure?"

"Tell us what?" Charlie pipes up.

"I'm pregnant," Sharon tells the kids, "That's why I've been getting sick lately."

"What does that mean?" Nicole asks, looking up at her father and stepmother in confusion.

"It means that in a few months you guys are going to have a baby brother or sister…," Sharon says, looking over at Andy before looking at the kids, an apprehensive smile on her face, "Well two actually."

Both of the boys wince as the girls let out high pitched squeals, excited about the news of their impending siblings. Sharon laughs softly after cringing slightly herself. She looks over at Andy and smiles at him with a wink. After a moment of celebrating the potential of getting the baby sister she had always wanted, Emily's face screws up in disgust and she backs away from the group.

"Ewwwwww! You and Dad had sex?!" She exclaims.

"Oh my god," Sharon groans, covering her face with her hands before turning around, "Will you get them out of here please? We have gone so far beyond what I can handle on a Saturday morning without coffee."

"Come on guys, let's go play Nintendo while Mom makes breakfast," Andy says, straightening up with a grin and starting to herd the kids out of the kitchen.

"But I didn't get my shirt," Nicole says.

"You can wear something else," Andy tells her.

"What's sex?" Ricky asks as they round the corner to the living room. Sharon muffles a laugh at Andy's groan as she resumes her task of making breakfast for the family. She puts together a stack of pancakes as well as scrambled eggs and bacon, setting everything on the table before getting juice and water out. She steps towards the living room, surprised to hear Andy talking to the kids instead of the blips of the Nintendo.

"So…I suppose those are the basics…" He trails off.

"That's gross," Charlie and Ricky say in unison. Sharon laughs softly and steps into the room, rapping her knuckles softly against the entryway.

"I hate to break up what I am sure is a rousing discussion about the human anatomy, but breakfast is ready."

"Ooh pancakes!" The kids exclaim, scrambling into the kitchen. Andy pushes up off of the couch and rolls his eyes as he stands in front of his wife.

"I spend 30 minutes talking about talking about boy parts and girl parts and you swoop in with pancakes," He complains.

"I can see why you like being the good guy," Sharon smiles and wraps her arms around him, "I will remind you that I have thrown up twice this morning and touched a dog pee soccer ball. You having to explain to the kids that Mommy and Daddy aren't really wrestling late at night pales in comparison at the moment."

"Witch," Andy grumbles before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips. Sharon hums and kisses him back for a moment before pulling away and pushing him towards the kitchen. They get the kids fed and ready for the day before heading out. Charlie had a swim meet late that morning, and no one else had any activities so they were all going to watch.

Once they get to the pool for Charlie's meet Sharon takes the kids to get seats in the stands as Andy takes Charlie down to the deck to drop him off with his swim team. He ruffles the boy's hair and sets his bag down next to the bench, pointing to where they were sitting.

"Mom and Dan are coming right?"

"Yep," Andy nods, "Sharon even saved a seat for them."

"Good," Charlie smiles.

"Swim fast," Andy tells him, squeezing his shoulder before making his way towards the stands to join the rest of the family. He stops when he hears his ex-wife call out his name before he begins to climb the stairs, "Hey."

"Hey," Vicky smiles as she and Dan catch up to him, "Have you been here long?"

"No, we just got here," Andy says, glancing up at the kids and Sharon before looking back at Vicky, "You have a second before we sit down?"

"Should I be worried?" Vicky teases, stepping back from the stair she had climbed on. She points Dan in Sharon's direction and tells him she'll be up in a moment before stepping out of the pool area with Andy. They walk part of the way down the quiet hall before Andy points to a bench.

"Let's sit."

"Okay now you really have me worried. You never want to sit," Vicky says as she sits down, setting her purse on the floor next to her.

"It's nothing," Andy waves her off as he sits next to her, "I kind of had to have a talk with the kids this morning… _the_ talk."

"The talk…what are you…oh!"

"Yeah," Andy rubs the back of his neck with a sigh, "I know we haven't talked about how we wanted to approach that…but there were some…extraneous circumstances that forced my hand."

"Extraneous circumstances? You sound like a lawyer."

"Gavin and Andrea have been hanging around a bit lately," Andy laughs. His foot taps against the ground a few times as he takes a deep breath and lets it out, "Um, Sharon's pregnant."

"Sharon's… _really_?"

"Yeah," Andy nods with a small smile, "We kind of had a breakdown this morning and told the kids, which brought up some questions after Emily's excitement was clouded by her disgust that we had sex. She, uh, got the talk earlier than the rest of them…"

"Ah," Vicky laughs and shakes her head, "I thought she made you go under the knife."

"She did…I didn't go to the follow up appointment."

"Andy!" Vicky chastises.

"I know, I know, I know," Andy says, "You can save it, it's all I've heard about the last two weeks. And probably all I'm going to hear about for the next eight months."

"Things a little tense?"

"No, no," Andy shakes his head and takes a deep breath, "We're happy, excited. It's just…a surprise and Sharon's got this severe morning sickness stuff, so she feels terrible most of the time. And we're already worrying about where we're going to put them and if we're going to need a new car…it's been a whirlwind couple weeks."

"Sounds like it," Vicky sympathizes. If anyone had told her seven years ago this is where the two of them were going to be instead of only seeing each other on the other side of the court room, she would have thought them clinically insane. She was glad to see Andy doing well, and glad that her kids got to grow up with their father in their life.

"What are you going to do?" Andy shrugs with a smile before getting up from the bench and offering her a hand. They start to make their way back towards the pool area when Vicky stops him.

"Wait a second, _them_?"

"Mmm," Andy nods, holding up two fingers. Vicky barks out a laugh as she resumes their walk.

"You won't need to get that vasectomy touched up. She's going to castrate you at some point in the next eight months."

"Probably," Andy agrees, a slight tone of acceptance to his voice as they open the door to the pool.

* * *

[TBC]


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes:** Glad you all enjoyed the comedy break the last chapter provided. This is a little more serious of a chapter based off of a conversation with **Kadi219** (who also helped talk through the last chapter #lateshoutout) and a Guest review left recently. I agree with the part of the review about things being a little heavier logistics wise than they seem and that Andy was kind of blasé during their conversation. Keep dropping me reviews and letting me know what you guys think :D

* * *

Andy sighs as he steps out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, rubbing a smaller one over the top of his head to dry his hair. They had spent most of the day at the pool for Charlie's meet and picked up pizza for dinner on the way home. The kids had begged to eat outside before talking Andy into getting into the pool with them after they finished. The latter part of the evening was spent swimming around with the kids well beyond when the sun had dipped below the horizon as Sharon watched on from a lawn chair perched next to the pool.

When the clock struck 10 they dragged the kids out of the pool and inside to go to bed, making sure everyone was tucked in before retreating to the bedroom. Andy had headed for the shower after Sharon had waved off his offer for her to go first, intending to change into her pajamas and climb into bed, leaving her shower for the morning. Yet, it seemed that not all the little monkeys that had been put to bed had stayed in bed. Ricky was curled up at Sharon's side playing with the bracelet circling her wrist.

"Everything okay?" Andy asks as he drapes the towel in his hand over the foot of the bed. Sharon pulls her lips away from the top of Ricky's head and looks up at her husband, nodding as she offers him a small and slightly sad smile.

"Yeah, we're doing fine," Sharon tells him. Andy hesitates before she shakes her head, indicating that he shouldn't press any further at the moment. He watches as the boy takes a big shuddering breath before sniffling. He lifts his hand and rubs at his eyes and nose, not letting go of his mother as he does. Andy grabs clothes out of the dresser before heading back into the bathroom to get dressed and finish his nightly routine.

He comes back out a few minutes later dressed in a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, turning the light in the bathroom off with a quick flick of the wrist. Walking around to his side of the bed he kneels on the mattress, sitting back on his heel as he looks at Sharon and Ricky. The little boy doesn't spare him a second glance as he sits down, keeping his hold on Sharon as her hand trails up and down his back.

"You okay, bub?"

"Ah huh," Ricky mumbles as he nods.

"I think he's going to hang out with us tonight," Sharon says.

"Sure," Andy nods, reaching out to squeeze the boy's leg before shifting so he can lay down. Sharon pulls her arm from around Ricky and encourages him to lay down as she shifts into more of a laying position herself. He shuffles around a bit before stretching out more and snuggling into Sharon's side, wrapping his arm around her middle as he closes his eyes. She continues to rub his back until he's asleep, slipping her hand under his arm to loosen his grip slightly, "What happened?"

"I don't know," Sharon admits in a quiet voice, taking care not to wake the boy, "He was out when we put him down for bed but by the time I got changed he came in in tears sobbing about how he was supposed to be the baby."

"Ah," Andy sighs and reaches out, rubbing Ricky's back.

"I finally got him to calm down and tell me what was wrong," Sharon continues, "And he said that I always told him he was my baby and how was he going to be my baby with new babies coming. I explained to him that he was always going to be my baby whether or not he was the youngest…"

"He's been the baby for six years…I'd expect it to be difficult," Andy comments with a small shrug, "My mom used to tell me that Katherine hated me until I was three. I thought we'd have a bit though…"

"Andy," Sharon sighs and rolls her head to look at her husband, "I don't want them to feel put out or like we're trying to replace them…we're not."

"No we're not," Andy agrees, "And we'll make sure the know that."

"Promise?"

"I promise," Andy says lifting his hand from Ricky's back and reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. He leans over and presses a kiss to her forehead before settling back down on his side of the bed. Sharon sighs as she looks down at Ricky, watching the boy sleep for a few moments before reaching over to turn the light on her bedside table off. She turns onto her side facing Ricky and Andy and shuffles a little further up on her pillows so her body was more elevated. Ricky hums and snuggles into her more, letting out a soft sigh as her arm wraps around him.

In the morning Sharon wakes up to Ricky's grinning face only a couple inches from her own. She offers the boy a sleepy smile and runs her fingers through his hair, trying to get the stray locks to lay flat. It was a gesture she'd perfected in the years since he was a baby. His hair had an innate need to stick up on end any time it was mussed out of it's original form.

"Sleep well?" Sharon murmurs.

"Mmhm," Ricky nods.

"Good," She smiles, stroking her hand over his cheek, "I love you."

"I love you too, Momma," Ricky smiles.

"Do you want to feel the babies?" Sharon offers.

"Feel them?" Ricky says, tilting his head in question. Sharon nods and shifts her position, sitting up more against the headboard. She lifts up the sweatshirt that she had fallen asleep in the night before and holds her hand out in front of her son. He holds his smaller hand out and puts it in hers. Sharon flips it over so it was palm side down and puts it against the bulge of her lower stomach. Between there being two of them and the weight loss from being sick, there was a definite curve to her abdomen. Luckily, it was still easy for her to hide it behind looser blouses and dresses at work and home. Ricky gives her an incredulous look as he holds his hand against her stomach, "Momma you're silly, there's no babies in there."

"They're in there," Sharon smiles, tucking her arm behind her head. She holds up her free hand and holds her fingers about an inch apart from each other, "They're just really, really little right now."

"They are?"

"Mmhm," She nods, moving her hand to rest above Ricky's, "They won't be here for about seven months, and they're going to grow lots and lots before then."

"Are they gonna like me?" Ricky asks.

"Of course," Sharon nods again with an encouraging smile on her face, "They're going to love you so much, and I know you're going to be a great big brother to them."

"I'm gonna be even better than Charlie," Ricky says as he sits up straighter and puffs his chest out.

"I believe it," Sharon tells him, lifting her hand to ruffle his hair, "And you are _always_ going to be my baby. Always."

"Good," Ricky grins.

"Why don't you go see if the others are up, hmm? I'll be down in a second to make some breakfast before church," Sharon suggests.

"Okay," Ricky agrees. He leans down and presses a kiss to her stomach, "Be good babies, stop making Momma sick!"

Sharon laughs and watches as he hops down from the bed and runs out of the room. She sighs softly and reaches out to rest her hand on Andy's back. She had noticed the change in his breathing part way through her exchange with Ricky.

"He's gonna be okay," Andy comments as he turns his head to look at her.

"I know," She nods and looks over at him, "I worry though. He's going to be the epitome of a middle child…the older kids all have each other, the twins will have each other…"

"Ricky is a chameleon," Andy tells her, "He does well with the his older siblings, but he also does well with younger kids. He's an empathetic kid."

"Where did you learn the word empathetic?" Sharon says with an arched eyebrow and a small smile playing on her lips.

"I sometimes pay attention at those sensitivity seminars," Andy grins as Sharon laughs and shakes her head. He reaches over and rubs his hand over her stomach, "He's right though, you two need to stop making your mom so sick."

"It'd be nice," Sharon agrees. She covers Andy's hand and squeezes gently before slipping out of her side of the bed. She straightens her sweatshirt and pulls on a pair of shorts before heading down to the kitchen to make the kids breakfast. Andy stretches out with a grunt before getting up and following her, "Are you coming with to mass this morning?"

"Yeah," Andy nods as he grabs some fruit out of the fridge, putting it on the cutting board before reaching around Sharon for a knife, "Have you talked to Father Espinoza at all about this?"

"About what?" Sharon asks as she looks up from cracking eggs into the mixing bowl.

"The twins, all of this stuff…" Andy says, waving the knife in the air a bit.

"Oh, yeah a little bit," She says, resuming her task. After scraping the shells into the trash she grabs a whisk and begins to beat the contents of the bowl, "Just a little last week in passing."

"You doing okay?" Andy asks as he starts cutting up fruit. They had had a busy week and telling other people was a big step. He was never usually so blatant about checking in on her, that wasn't how they operated. They were easy to read to the other, but there were topics that neither of them could gauge emotional wellbeing on. This was one that Andy always had problems understanding where she was.

"I am," Sharon says as she pours the scrambled eggs into the waiting hot pan. She rinses out the bowl she'd used and sets it in the sink before grabbing a spatula and beginning to mix the eggs as they cook. She sets it down after a moment and leans a hip against the stove as she looks at her husband, "It's hard…not to be afraid sometimes. And sometimes it's hard not to be upset…upset really isn't the right word…"

"Agitated?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's better," Sharon says with a shrug as her arms cross, "I'm not mad at you, and I want these babies, it's just…it has the ability to be agitating. We're in a lot different place than we were when Emily and Ricky were born, we're a lot farther along in our careers, we thought we were done…"

"That has you worried," Andy offers with an arched eyebrow.

"It does. I assumed once we got married that this was the house we were going to raise our family in. That it would be the perfect size for when we retired and had grandkids coming over…" Sharon explains, "And now we need something else, something bigger. We're growing…I just thought we weren't anymore."

"I think we both did," Andy sympathizes. He finishes cutting fruit and puts the knife down, walking around to the other side of the counter. He slips his arms around her waist and his hands under her sweatshirt, putting them on her stomach, "Things are going to change, they _are_ changing. But we always work this stuff out…don't we?"

"We do," Sharon nods, "It's just a hump to get over."

"I'm here for you," Andy reminds her, "Whatever you want to talk about."

"I know," Sharon says as she stirs the eggs. She turns her head and captures his lips, offering him a small smile, "I love you."

* * *

[TBC]


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes:** Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter everyone! Enjoy this one :D

* * *

"Why did you let me get rid of all of the baby stuff?" Sharon complains as she sits in the middle of the living room, looking at the two boxes that she had narrowed Emily and Ricky's baby things down to. The majority of the things were mementos; baby books, first outfits, shoes, and similar things.

"When was the last time I _let_ you do anything?" Andy asks as he drops down into the recliner. He had flown out to Hartford the day before to drop the kids off with his mother for their end of summer trip. They were spending most of the week with her and then he and Sharon were flying out to meet her and the kids in Hartford and spend the weekend with all of their parents.

"True," Sharon sighs and leans back against the couch, rubbing her hand over her stomach. The bulge was much more prominent than it had been a few weeks before. They had coached the kids to not bring anything up to their grandparents, planning to surprise everyone when they went out at the end of the week, "We'll have to start from scratch. I donated the furniture too…all that's in these boxes are just…keepsakes."

"That's fine," Andy says as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his kneecaps.

"I found the baby name book I used when I picked Emily's name," Sharon says, picking up the small book and holding it out to him, "Some of the names I picked out…"

"Not good?"

"Now that I know her, no," Sharon shakes her head with a smile. She rests her head on her hand as she watches him flip through the book. She had highlighted all of the names she'd considered before moving to stars as she'd narrowed down the list, "I changed my mind a couple weeks before she was born. Emily wasn't even on my final list."

"What was it going to be?"

"Luciana," Sharon says, "I thought it was pretty, a little exotic sounding…Of course at the time I didn't realize that her father was Italian. I was going to call her Lucy, for short."

"Why did you change your mind?"

"Names mean something…and I wanted more for her than just 'pretty'," Sharon says, "Emily means 'to strive' and that's what I wanted of her. I wanted her to strive and excel and be the best she could be."

"What about Eileen?"

"It's a family name, but it means 'beautiful bird'. I always thought it fit her well."

"It does," Andy nods with agreement, smiling as he looks through the book. He flips through the pages before slowing down until he gets to what he was looking for, "Let's see…Sharon…"

"Oh god," Sharon groans, hiding her face in her hands, "Don't."

"Of the fertile plain," Andy reads with a grin, "Seriously?"

"Put the book away," Sharon says, reaching out with a blind hand to bat it out of his hands. Andy laughs and swats at her hand with the book.

"And you're blaming me."

"I am blaming you because you didn't go to your follow up appointment!" Sharon says as she snaps the book out of his hand before throwing it at his face.

"Ow!" Andy says as it smacks his forehead.

"Remember that when you feel like being funny," Sharon grins. She looks towards the kitchen when she hears Lily pawing at the back door, pushing herself up off the floor. She makes her way into the kitchen and opens the sliding glass door to let her out.

While the dog does her business Sharon takes a moment to rifle through the fridge. She pulls out a packet of lunchmeat and opens it up, taking a whiff of its contents. She hums at the smell of salami and grabs a bag of cheese as well before turning to the stove. She pulls out a small pan and turns the burner on, waiting for it to heat up before laying out a couple slices.

Lily wanders back in as she cooks, lifting her nose to sniff at what was going on. Sharon offers her a cold slice after shutting the door, putting some cheese onto the slices in the pan and waiting for it to melt. She turns the burner off and puts the food back into the fridge before putting the warm pieces onto a paper towel, stuffing them into her mouth as she walks back to the living room.

"What are you eating?" Andy asks as he drops Ricky's christening gown back into the box.

"Salami, and cheese," Sharon says as she puts the second slice into her mouth, "Melty, melty cheese…"

"Isn't that a bit heavy?" He says as he stands. Sharon nods as she wipes her fingers off while she licks her lips and swallows.

"So fatty and salty," She agrees while walking around the couch, reaching out to hook her fingers in his belt loops. She pulls him closer and leans up on her toes to kiss him softly before sinking back down, "The nausea is less constant. Doctor said that hopefully it should wane as I get further into my second trimester. I'll take the cravings when I get them."

"Good plan," Andy says, leaning down to kiss her again and rubbing his hands up her back, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Me too," Sharon smiles, "Why don't we put this stuff up and we can go get dinner?"

"I think that sounds like a great evening," Andy agrees. He bundles up the boxes and takes them back downstairs to put in the small storage area they had. He makes his way upstairs and finds Sharon waiting by the door. She had put a pair of sandals on and was holding the car keys in her hands, waiting for him, "What sounds good?"

"Some pasta with actual sauce on it," Sharon suggests. He nods and holds his hand out to her, walking her out to the car. He watches as she hesitates for a moment, her eyes scanning the small car with a momentary panic.

"We'll go look at cars this week," Andy offers. It was a small step towards solving their space problem. Sharon nods and offers him a smile, holding out the keys to him.

Later in the week Sharon groans as she unfolds herself from the cab. She grabs the duffel bag they had thrown clothes into as Andy pays the driver. She digs the keys from her purse, unlocking the door and letting go of the bag as he takes it from her. They quietly make their way inside, locking up behind themselves, before heading upstairs to the guest room they normally stayed in. Sharon braces a hand on the end of the bed as she takes her heels off with a soft groan. She wiggles her toes against the floor and drops the shoes onto the decorative trunk as Andy sets the bag down next to them.

"Am I being dramatic if I think my feet are already swelling?"

"You can be as dramatic as you want, babe."

"Thanks," Sharon says as she laughs. She opens the bag and pulls out her nightgown, undressing down to the simple cotton underwear on her hips before tugging the silk over her head. She pads to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash off her makeup as Andy changes before coming back and climbing into her side of the bed, sighing as she stretches out. Andy turns the light off in the bathroom after he finishes and climbs into bed next to Sharon, immediately reaching over to turn the light off. He presses his lips to hers and wraps his arms around her.

"I love you, you know that?" Andy says quietly.

"I know that," Sharon replies as she reaches up to stroke his cheek, "I love you too."

"Get some rest, Momma," He orders softly before sinking down into his side of the bed. Sharon hums and shuffles closer to him, resting her back against his chest as she closes her eyes. She'd finally started sleeping in a normal position earlier in the week and was very much enjoying the feeling of her husband's arms around her again.

The two of them wake up in the morning to the clomping of feet down the hallway, Ricky and Emily yelling as they make their way downstairs. Sharon stretches out and chuckles softly as she turns to face Andy, peppering his face with kisses.

"Oh, those are the sounds that I missed," She whispers.

"Missed?"

"Well…at least the people attached to them," Sharon giggles. Andy laughs and presses a kiss to her lips, burying his face in her neck for a moment before letting her go. She slips out of bed and rubs her hand over her stomach as she pulls out the outfit she had packed. Disappearing into the bathroom, Sharon gets changed into one of the last pairs of jeans she could get buttoned along with a sleeveless, fitted, olive green, v-neck shirt. She digs out the pair of riding boots that she kept in the wardrobe, pulling them on.

Andy pushes himself out of bed. He stretches out and grunts as he walks by Sharon to the bathroom, dropping a kiss on her temple. He uses the bathroom and cleans up before getting dressed himself. He drops his hands to her waist as she leans over the small vanity in the room and paints some simple lipstick on.

"You look lovely," Andy murmurs as he presses a kiss to her neck.

"You are way too kind, Mr. Flynn," Sharon says as she caps the lipstick before leaning back in his grasp. She smiles at him in the mirror and winks. Andy rolls his eyes and squeezes her close for a moment before pulling back and holding his hand out to her. They make their way down to the kitchen together, hearing voices the closer they get.

"Why can't I go wake up Mommy and Daddy?" Emily begs.

"Your parents got in very late last night," Connie tells her granddaughter, "They should be allowed to sleep in if they want."

"Mommy never sleeps in though," Emily says.

"Not if you're going in and waking her up," Mary points out. Sharon laughs softly and squeezes Andy's hand as she throws a smile in his direction.

"She rarely ever actually comes in and wakes me up," Sharon says as they round the corner into the kitchen. She reaches over the back of Ricky's chair and tickles him under the armpits, "It's usually this little stringbean!"

"Momma!" Ricky squeals, laughing as she tickles him. Sharon laughs and pulls her hands back, smoothing them over her midsection. Her bottom lip gets pulled into her mouth as she smiles at their parents' shocked expressions.

"Surprise!"

* * *

[TBC]


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes:** Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter - a couple people mentioned seeing the reaction of their parents so I worked that in. Chapter 1 of 2 posted this evening.

* * *

"When did you find out?" Mary asks her daughter as they sit out on the patio. She was sitting on one side and Connie was on the other, Sharon between them. They were all drinking iced tea as they watched Bill and Andy play with the kids in the yard. After getting over the excitement of Sharon's initial announcement, they continued with breakfast before retreating outside.

"When I passed out at work," Sharon says as she indicates the small scar on her forehead. Both of them had been told about the incident, but not about the cause, "They ended up admitting me for a day and diagnosing me with hyperemesis gravidarum."

"What..."

"Severe morning sickness," Sharon clarifies with a roll of her eyes, "At least that's what they call it. It's spending your entire day in a perpetual nauseated state and a lot of time throwing up. When I passed out I was dehydrated from throwing up, anemic…I thought I just had a stomach bug. It's allegedly more common in multiple pregnancies."

"Multiple?" Connie says with wide eyes. She always thought that Andy and Sharon were being a little too secretive all the way out in California. Sharon nods and laughs softly, her hand smoothing over her stomach again before holding up two fingers and wiggling them back and forth.

"Twins," Sharon confirms, "Hence the beginnings of the 'bump' at 13 weeks."

"That's…" Mary laughs and shakes her head, "Two of them?"

"Mmmhm," Sharon hums, taking a sip of her drink.

"Well congratulations! That's going to be quite the house full," Connie asks as she shifts her position and focuses on her daughter-in-law more.

"Quite. We are going to have to move, find something bigger. And probably trade in one of the cars. But we're going to make it work," Sharon says, offering a small smile.

"Are the kids excited?"

"The girls are," Sharon starts, "Charlie doesn't particularly care either way, I don't think. Ricky is…he goes back and forth."

"I thought you guys had decided you weren't going to have anymore," Mary points out, "Not that we're complaining, but you seemed pretty serious."

"We were, _are_ …" Sharon takes a deep breath and sighs. She looks out at the kids, smiling as Emily squeals as she runs across the yard. There were very few people that knew about what had happened previously, "Four years ago…I had a miscarriage. We weren't prepared for another baby at all. We were barely making ends meet, but I took it really hard. And we talked, and decided that the four of them was enough. That was going to be our family."

"But…" Mary prompts quietly.

"When I got pregnant that time, I had an IUD in. I got it after Ricky was born and they took it out when we found out I was pregnant," She continues to explain, "So after we lost the baby and decided that was it, Andy got a vasectomy. To which he proceeded to _not_ go to the follow up appointment for. We don't know if it actually worked or if it's just been a ticking time bomb for the last four years and something changed. Needless to say we were quite surprised when the doctor told us that I was pregnant."

"I can imagine," Connie sympathizes. She looks out her son and sighs with a shake of her head, "Oh that boy sometimes…"

"How are you dealing with everything?"

"I have my moments still," Sharon says tactfully, "But I'm excited for them, I really am."

"What about after?" Connie asks.

"Oh your son is going back to the urologist, and going to the follow up appointments this time," Sharon says as she grins into her iced tea, taking a sip, "Anyway, I'm due around Valentines day, but the doctor was telling me that twins usually go early. I think it was after 35 weeks they'll deliver if I go into labor. Regardless we won't be able to travel for Christmas. I know we had mentioned getting together in Park City this year, which we could drive, but I even worry that would be too much. You guys are welcome to come stay with us again."

"Oh honey don't worry about that, we'll work something out," Mary says, reaching out to pat her daughter's hand, "We've got a few months before need to worry anyway."

"Nonna!" Ricky yells as he runs over, "Grandpa's taking us to see the horses, come with us."

"I would love to come with to see the horses!" Connie says, pushing her chair back from the table before standing up. Bill and Mary's neighbors had a larger acreage and had a horse stable on their property and would let the kids come over and ride when they visited. Andy carries Emily over and sets her down on the patio, ruffling her hair as Bill steps up beside them. He leans down and presses a kiss to Sharon's forehead as he puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want to come see the horses?" He asks with a playful tone.

"I think I might skip the horses today," Sharon says with a slightly regretful tone, before looking up at her husband, "I actually think I'm going to go lay down. Breakfast isn't sitting well with me."

"Okay, you need me to get you anything?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head, reaching up to squeeze his hand before standing up. She presses a kiss to Andy's cheek and tells the kids to have a good time before slipping back inside. She makes her way upstairs and sits on the edge of the bed to unzip her boots, dropping them next to the nightstand. Piling the pillows up against the headboard, she leans back against them and smoothes her hand over her stomach, "Oh you two…you're going to be trouble makers I know it."

Sharon quickly finds herself dozing against the mountain of pillows. She sleeps for a little over an hour before jolting awake as the sound of a lawnmower makes its way through her subconscious. She groans as she looks at her watch before swinging her legs to the side and getting out of bed. She steps over to the window and pulls the drapes aside, watching as Andy mows the yard, pushing the lawn mower back and forth in precise swaths. She puts her boots back on and makes her way downstairs, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Sharon notices the quiet besides the lawnmower, finding the house empty before she steps out back. In the few moments it had taken her to get downstairs he'd paused and stripped down to his undershirt and she could see sweat forming on his brow as he moved. She watches with an attentive eye as he finishes the last couple swaths of the yard before turning the mower off and wiping his hands on his jeans.

"Hey," She calls out, making her way towards him.

"Hi," Andy smiles before wiping his face off with his t-shirt, "You feeling better?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods, "Might have over done it on the bacon. Why are you mowing?"

"Oh, your dad said the kid who normally comes to mow wasn't able to make it over this week," Andy explains, "They took the kids to the store to pick up some stuff for dinner, so I offered to stay back and mow."

"You didn't have to do that," Sharon smiles up at him as she steps closer. She could feel a warmth blossom in her stomach that she hadn't felt in weeks.

"It's fine," Andy shrugs with a grin, "I know your parents are by no means old, but I didn't want to leave you alone and I didn't mind doing it."

"You said they went to the store?"

"Yeah, left probably…twenty, thirty minutes ago? I think our mothers were cooking something up with each other, something big for dinner tonight."

"Sounds like it could be delicious," Sharon murmurs as she watches a stray drop of sweat make its way down his face and neck, soaking into the collar of his shirt. She snaps out of her gaze and holds her hand out to him, looking up at him with warm eyes, "Come inside with me."

"Inside with you?" Andy asks, arching his eyebrow as he lets her take his hand. She nods and pulls at his hand as she curls her fingers around his, leading him inside behind her. She tugs him up the stairs and to their room before turning to look at him.

"Shut the door," She demands softly. Andy nudges the door shut and turns to face his wife. Sharon reaches out and tugs his shirt out of his hand, tossing it on the floor. She runs her hands up his chest on the outside of his undershirt before fisting the white cotton in her hands and pulling him closer, capturing his lips in a hungry kiss.

Andy lets out a surprised grunt as he's tugged roughly to her body, his hands easily finding their place around her waist. He responds to the insistent tug of her lips and teeth and kisses her back with vigor as he walks her back towards the bed. Sharon's hand release their grip and she drags her nails down, grabbing the edge of his tank and tugging it swiftly over his head, only breaking their kiss for a moment. She turns them around and pushes him down onto the bed, standing over him as her hungry eyes drag over his sweaty muscles. His skin was tan from a summer spent outdoors with the kids, managing to combat the 40+ hours a week he was in long sleeves and a suit coat.

Sharon grabs the edge of her shirt and pulls it over her head. Andy sits up on his elbows and his brown eyes darken as they move over the curves of her body. Her breasts were barely contained by the cotton and lace that encased them as they moved up and down with each deep breath. Her stomach was curved outwards and the button of her jeans pulled slightly. He'd never had the chance to see her like this. They'd never crossed that line again while she was pregnant with Ricky.

"I like this look on you," Andy comments as he looks back into her eyes.

"Caveman," Sharon taunts with a smile as a flush creeps over her skin. She reaches down and undoes his belt buckle and fly, pulling his jeans and boxers down in one fell swoop. She kneels to remove them and his shoes before running her hands up his thighs and cupping his half hard member in her hand. She strokes him a few times before taking him in her mouth, looking up at him through half lidded eyes as she hears him grunt and sit up fully. He groans as her tongue moves around him, threading his fingers in her hair.

Watching with rapt interest as her head bobs up and down, Andy groans at the abrupt departure as she pulls back completely but keeps her hand tight at his base. She gives him a firm stroke upward before pushing herself back to her feet. Andy reaches out and grabs her hips, pulling her close before pressing his lips to her stomach. His fingers pry open her jeans, lowering the zipper slowly before pushing them down her hips with her underwear. He lets his hands skim down her thighs to the riding boots, unzipping them before gently prying her feet out of their clutches.

Sharon kicks her pants off as she reaches up to undo the clasp on her bra, adding the final scrap of fabric to the pile. Andy pulls her onto the bed with him and rolls her body under his, capturing her lips in a kiss. He trails his lips along her jaw and bites at her earlobe gently.

"I've missed you," He murmurs quietly.

"I've missed you too," Sharon whispers as she strokes his cheek, directing his eyes back to hers. She smiles at him and kisses him softly as her hands squeeze his biceps, "I'm sorry I've felt so crappy lately."

"Don't apologize," Andy shakes his head. They had barely touched each other let alone had sex since they'd found out they were pregnant again. She'd given him a couple hand jobs late in the evening on occasion, and he spent most of his mornings in a cold shower unless he decided to take care of things himself.

He was very much glad to see that she was feeling better overall. He'd hated that her smiles were clouded and her eyes dull from the nausea. He hated that she ever felt unsure about what they were doing. He could slowly see her light coming back; brighter and warmer smiles, more color to her skin, genuine laughs.

"I need you," Sharon says as she scratches her nails gently against his skin, "I want you."

"I need you too," Andy assures her as he captures her lips in a hungry kiss. Sharon moans into his mouth as his fingers trail over her skin teasingly before he cups a breast in his palm. His thumb brushes over nipple before massaging more firmly, drawing a deeper groan out of her. He pulls his mouth away from hers and drops wet kisses against her skin as he reacquaints himself with the nuances of her form.

"Oh," Sharon moans as his mouth closes around her nipple. Her head tips back and her eyes close as she tangles her fingers in his hair. It was getting grayer around the temples, silver strands speckled throughout. He'd been getting it cut shorter as well and she'd been enjoying it. It was spiky and a little roguish.

"God I've missed you," Andy murmurs as he nuzzles her soft skin. His mouth continues south while pressing soft kisses over her stomach. He skips over the apex of her thighs and trails his mouth down her legs. He kisses his way to her ankle, looking up at her with dancing brown eyes.

"Get up here," Sharon demands with a raspy tone. Normally she needed more. She needed foreplay and a lot more touching, maybe some well placed teeth. But today between his lips on her skin and the image of him sweating in the sun her motors were revved.

Andy makes his way back up the bed and runs his hands up her thighs as he kneels between them. He hooks his hands in her knees and pulls them up into a bent position as he looks down at her. His thumb tickles the hidden spot on the back of her knee and he smiles as she lets out a giggle. He slips a pillow under her hips and teasingly strokes his thumb over her center, finding her wet and ready.

Sharon moans and lifts her hips towards him. He lifts his thumb to her mouth and she slips her tongue out, sucking off the juices she finds. Andy runs his thumb over her bottom lip before slipping his hand down to cup her neck and trail it down her windpipe, watching as she swallows. He drops his eyes between them, positioning himself with his free hand before sinking into her. She gasps and wraps her hands around his hips, pulling him closer. The two of them easily find rhythm with each other, enjoying their reconnection before Sharon asks for more.

"Faster," She whimpers, her short nails digging into his skin. Andy moves his hips faster against hers, the sweat that had cooled off earlier springing up again and highlighting his skin. Her hands move up from his hips to clutch at his back as she pulls herself up against him, matching his pace.

Andy's brow furrows against the sensation of her pulsing around him. He listens as she moans in time with their thrusts, her chest bouncing. He feels her thighs curl tighter around him. She drags her nails down his side before letting go with one hand and slipping it between them, touching herself as he moves within her.

"I've got you," Andy murmurs, holding onto her thighs with a tight grip, his fingers sinking into her soft flesh. Sharon's breath hitches and her back arches as she presses her fingers against herself more firmly. For a moment there's not a single sound that escapes from her mouth as her jaw drops open. Her body twists as the heat floods through her veins with her release.

" _Andy_ ," Sharon cries out, her voice echoing off of the walls. For a single moment her vision darkens as her hand still clutching at Andy digs in further. She hears him grunt her name and lets out another soft moan as he fills her. The two lie wrapped up with each other for a few moments, coming down from their highs.

"Oh god, babe," Andy groans with a laugh.

"You should do more lawn work," Sharon says with a breathless laugh of her own as she looks up at him. She presses her lips to his in a gentle kiss as her foot strokes the back of his calf, "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

[TBC]


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes:** We're back in LA and the kids are back in school!

* * *

"What are you working on?" Andy asks as he steps into the kitchen with the kids' dinner plates in his hands. They had all had a long day and the kids had been treated to chicken nuggets in front of the TV as Sharon had directed herself to the kitchen table, paper spread out around her. There was a plate sitting next to her on her left that she was picking from as she worked.

"I have abandoned work work at the moment," Sharon says as she looks up. She takes her reading glasses off and sets them down on the paper in front of her, rubbing her eyes. The glasses had been prescribed earlier in the year. She hated them, he liked the look of them on her, "Looking at bank stuff."

"Bank stuff?"

"Mmhm," Sharon says with a nod as she rests her chin in her hand, "And realty stuff…and car stuff…"

"Shar," Andy sighs and sets the plates on the counter before putting his hands on her shoulders, squeezing softly, "You don't have to do this all yourself."

"I'm just trying to wrap my brain around it," Sharon says, rolling her head forward as his thumbs massage the base of her neck, "Gavin gave me the number of the realtor he's used a couple times. Says she's really good, decently priced. I think we should make an appointment with her."

"Sure," Andy nods, looking at the paper spread around her.

"I think we'll be able to look at places up to five hundred…anything beyond that is going to spread us too thin. And I think we'll want to go with the Land Cruiser," Sharon says as she points to the car brochure on the top of the pile, "Seats eight, better ratings than the Ford…little more expensive, but the best fit for us out of the three we were looking at."

"You don't want the Lexus?" Andy teases. Sharon laughs and shakes her head.

"I'd love the Lexus, but it's almost ten thousand dollars more and it's basically the same thing as the Land Cruiser," Sharon explains. She looks up at Andy, dropping her head back against his abs, "If we get the right amount of trade in on the Camry, we could probably buy it outright."

"Sounds good," Andy replies as he squeezes her shoulders, "Why don't you take a bit of a break hmm?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods, "That sounds like a good idea."

"Come on," Andy helps her up, nudging her towards the living room as he turns to put the kids' plates into the dishwasher. He cleans up their dinner items, packing away a couple leftovers before going to join the rest of the family. Sharon was sitting on the floor at the coffee table between Ricky and Emily, helping them with their homework as she finished her dinner. He drops down onto the couch behind them, leaning forward to kiss the back of Sharon's head before turning the tv over to the Dodgers game, continuing to leave it on mute so the kids could keep working.

"Can I watch the game?" Ricky asks after he finishes his work sheet.

"Go put your stuff back in your bag and then you can," Sharon says. Ricky hops up and takes his stuff from the table to his backpack by the door. He stuffs everything inside and zips it up before rushing back to the living room and climbing onto the couch next to Andy. He wraps an arm around his son's shoulders, tucking him against his side as they keep their eyes glued on the tv.

By the time Emily was finished with her homework the game was just wrapping up. Sharon sends both of them to start getting ready for bed before pushing herself up off of the floor. Andy lifts his hands to steady her, smiling at her as she stands in between his legs. He presses a kiss to her belly and wraps his arms around her waist.

"Do you mind tucking them in?" Sharon asks as she runs her fingers through his hair, "I've still got a little bit of work to wrap up."

"Of course," Andy says, looking up at her, "You work too hard."

"Gotta keep climbing those ladders," Sharon replies with a small smile, "We're in the middle of an investigation. There's some records I need to finish going over tonight for interviews we're conducting tomorrow."

"God, what I wouldn't do to get you into Robbery/Homicide," Andy grumbles with envy.

"Hmm, I bet you would," Sharon laughs, prying him off of her before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his lips. She makes her way back to the kitchen, packing up their bank documents and getting her work things back out again as she sits down at the table. Andy makes sure that the kids get into bed and tucks them in before stopping back in the kitchen.

"Do you have the realtor's business card?"

"Hmm?" Sharon looks up from the paper in front of her.

"Realtor's business card?"

"Oh yeah," Sharon nods, reaching over to flip through the next pile, pulling out the small piece of cardstock, "Here."

"I'll call and make the appointment," Andy says as he looks at the info before tucking it into his shirt pocket, "First thing tomorrow."

"Thank you," Sharon replies with a grateful smile. Andy smiles back and leans down to kiss her.

"Don't stay up too late."

"I won't," Sharon shakes her head, "Love you."

"Love you too," Andy winks before heading to bed. Sharon watches him go before clutching her pencil between her teeth as she exchanges it for a highlighter, returning to her work.

A week and a half later, Andy rubs his hands over his face before getting out of the car and going around to Sharon's side. He opens her door for her and holds his hand out. Sharon grabs his hand and makes a face as she pulls herself out of the car, making the small jump down from the passenger seat.

They had finally gotten the Camry traded in and purchased a brand new '96 Land Cruiser. The SUVs had only been on the lot for a few weeks when they started looking. Intending to keep the car around for a while they had splurged a little on a higher end trim and Sharon had picked out the dark green paint job with a light tan leather interior. It was definitely an upgrade from the almost 10 year old Camry.

Andy puts his hand on the small of Sharon's back and walks her across the street. The realtor was already pulled into the drive waiting for them. It was the sixth house they would be looking at that day, and the eleventh overall. After a couple individual viewings they'd decided they'd rather wait and look at a bunch in one day. In hindsight it probably wasn't wise to take a pregnant woman shopping for a house, at all.

They had listed their house and started putting together a list of what they wanted and needed for their next house. All of the house talk and starting to pack up their current house had practically sent Sharon into full on nesting mode. There had even been a couple of terse phone calls with both of their mothers, asking that they stop sending boxes of baby things to them. Between not knowing what they were doing with housing, what they were having, and trying to pack things away, it was driving her nuts.

All of the other properties had gotten shot down at some point or another during the tours. Too big, too small, too ostentatious, not the right floor plan. He was hoping that they would have a better idea of what they were looking for by the end of the day.

The house they were parked in front of was a deceiving two level. From the street it looked like a standard ranch but the driveway dipped down towards the backyard where the second level was buried. There was a small yard in the front along with a large pine tree. There was redwood paneling along the side of the house with the rest of the stone painted a light slate color. The front door was painted a bright forest green and also surrounded by the redwood paneling as well.

"This looks lovely," Sharon says as she holds Andy's hand while they make their way up the walk.

"Alright, so this house was built in 1955. The current owners have done quite a bit of remodeling over the years, the paneling and landscaping on the outside," The realtor tells them before unlocking the door and letting them in. Sharon's eyes widen, not expecting the open floor plan inside. The floors were blonde wood, the moulding white, and the walls a light grey similar in tone to the outside of the house. The moderately sized kitchen was immediately to their left, an island in the middle, "Countertops are quartz, appliances all stainless steel, less than two years old, and the dining area is out through the doorway here…living area…sliding glass door out to the back yard…"

"Oh…" Sharon whispers. The sliding glass door had open panels on either side the looked out on the back yard and a lovely view of the Hollywood Hills. The backyard was partially a stone patio that functioned as the end of the driveway, but had a decent amount of grass lining a small pool. It was fenced in and the landscaping around the perimeter was a tasteful blend of bushes and small trees.

"That's a nice view, huh?" Andy says as he puts his hands on her hips.

"It's great," Sharon breathes.

"Backyard isn't too bad either. We'd just put a small iron fence around the pool, the swing set could fit in the corner, and Lily would still have plenty of room to run around," Andy notes, "The porch is nice as well."

"It is," Sharon nods as she notes the porch network that was attached to the back of the house. There was a thin L that went around the first level and a larger panel on the bottom. She could see another sliding glass door that lead into one of the bedrooms, the master suite if she had to guess.

"Porch is less than 5 years old," The realtor notes as she watches the couple look, "Pool is stone, about 20 years old, but has recently been refinished. The plumbing system is newer, about 3 years old. We can go through this way to the bedrooms."

"Lead the way," Andy says as the realtor unlocks the sliding glass door and opens it up. The couple follows her along the porch to the bedroom on the other side.

"This is the master suite. Bathroom is through this door over here, walk in closet through there."

"Walk in closet?" Sharon perks up, heading through the second door. She bites her lip and lets out a soft groan at the room. There were integrated shelving units and clothing rods on the walls, her eyes drawn to a particular section she could tell was for shoes.

"Shar, come check out the bathroom," Andy calls out, offering the realtor a wink. If the walk in closet hadn't sold her, he hoped the bathroom would. Sharon comes out and through to the bathroom. There were his and her sinks paired with a large stand shower in the corner and a two person jacuzzi bath tub to the right of it, "Not too bad, hmm?"

"Not bad at all," Sharon agrees as she sits on the edge of the tub, "Provided that the second level isn't a dump and the other bedrooms aren't complete closets…I want it."

"You do?" Andy asks, arching his eyebrows. She'd found things wrong with all of the other houses, and they hadn't even finished looking at this one and she wanted it.

"Mmhm," Sharon nods.

"Well, let's walk through the rest of the rooms, and then we can talk numbers," Andy offers his hand out to her to help her up. Sharon loops her arm through his and they walk through the rest of the house. There were three more bedrooms on the main level, a small one right next to their room, immediately earmarked for the twins, and then a pair of medium sized ones that shared a Jack and Jill bathroom on the other side of it. Downstairs was a family room with a small office alcove and the other two bedrooms. They walk outside through the sliding glass door in the basement and walk the yard before the realtor meets them at the gate to the driveway with an apprehensive look.

"So, what did you think?" She asks. It was the first full tour she'd managed to get them through.

"We want to make an offer," Sharon says, "We'd also like to bring the kids back in the next couple days, have them take a look at it."

"Great!"

* * *

[TBC]


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes:** Glad people enjoyed the double chapter post!

* * *

Later in the week on Friday Emily and Ricky had a half day at school. They had talked to Vicky and gotten permission to pick up Charlie and Nicole early from school to go look at the potential new house. After they finished looking at the house they were planning to take the kids to Sharon's doctors appointment so they could see the ultrasound. The six of them had gotten a quick lunch at a sandwich shop near Nicole and Charlie's school before heading for the hills.

"Why are we moving to a new house though?" Nicole asks as they walk through the house for a second time. Their offer had been put in, but Sharon had wanted to bring the kids back to make sure there were no huge misgivings with them.

"We need more space," Sharon says keeping an eye on the group as they explore, "You guys are getting too old to be sharing rooms. Here you could each have your own room and no one would have to share with the twins. There's a family room downstairs that you guys could have as a play room…we still have a pool, and we'll move over the swing set."

"It's really clean," Charlie comments, "And white."

"Well trust me, the white furniture is not staying…not with the four of you," Sharon shakes her head. Andy laughs and rolls his eyes as he leans against the wall, "The people that own the house right now made sure it was clean so it looks nice when people come to look and see if they want to buy it. Just like we did with our house. We'll still bring our own furniture and stuff…it'll just be a new house."

"I'll still have my bean bag?" Ricky asks of the bean bag chairs the four of them had been gifted from Sharon's parents.

"You will still have your bean bag," Sharon assures him.

"And we'll still go to the same school?" Ricky asks.

"You will all still go to the same schools. Same teams and everything," Andy chimes in.

"Where's Emily?" Sharon asks as she looks around and notices the girl had disappeared.

"I think she was going to look at the bedrooms," Andy says, waving his hand towards the hallway. Sharon slips by him and makes her way down the hall, finding Emily laying on the floor of the girl's bedroom of the two that shared the bathroom.

"What are you doing in here, monkey?" Sharon asks as she steps inside.

"There's so much space," Emily says as she spreads her arms and legs out, "I love it."

"What do you think of the rest of the house?" Sharon responds as she steps in further and manages to lower herself to the floor next to Emily, leaning against the small twin bed tucked in the corner. She was getting close to the point that the floor was no longer an option.

"I like it, it's nice," Emily says as she rolls over and sits up on her elbows as she looks at her mother, "There's a lot more room, and it's pretty. I saw some kids playing down the street when we got here."

"Yeah there's a couple other families on the street," Sharon nods in agreement, "I think they all have kids around your guys' age."

"Are we getting it?"

"Hopefully. If you guys like it and our offer on it is accepted."

"What does that mean?"

"When you sell a house you set a price that you're willing to sell it for. But when people come to look at it and wand to buy it they put in an offer, generally what they're willing to pay. There's other mumbo jumbo that goes into it as well, but those are the basics," Sharon says, "The owners will either accept our offer or reject it, sometimes they might come back with a different number."

"When do we find out?"

"Hopefully on Monday," Sharon smiles, "If we don't get it we'll keep looking at houses and hopefully find something else."

"I hope we get it."

"Me too," Sharon smiles, "How about you give your mom a hand up?"

"Sure," Emily bounces up from the floor and holds her hands out to Sharon, helping her up from the floor.

"Oh thank you," Sharon says, taking Emily's hand and walking with her to the family room where everyone else was. They look around a bit longer before thanking the realtor and heading back to the car. Andy opens the back door and folds down one of the seats so Ricky and Charlie could climb into the back. Once they settle he rights the seat and lets Emily and Nicole in before closing the door. He makes his way around to the drivers side and pulls himself up, buckling his seatbelt as he stuffs the key into the ignition.

"Everyone buckled?" Andy asks as he looks in the rearview mirror.

"Buckled!" The kids all echo as Andy starts the car.

"Alright, on our way to the doctor," He backs out of the drive and makes his way back towards Los Feliz, diverting towards downtown at the last minute to head towards the doctor's office. They manage to find a spot in the parking garage before letting the kids out. Sharon smiles at Ricky as he takes her hand, squeezing his tiny one softly as they walk inside.

Inside, Andy directs the kids to the seating area as Sharon checks in at the front desk. She steps over to where they were sitting a moment later, putting her bag down on a seat next to Andy.

"Should just be a couple minutes," Sharon says.

"Okay," Andy says as he reaches up to take her hand. She squeezes it with a smile before pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

"When do we need to drop Nic and Charlie off?"

"Sometime after dinner," Andy replies, "Vic wasn't specific."

"Flynn?" A nurse calls out from the door in the corner.

"That's me," Sharon says, keeping a hold on Andy's hand as they all follow the nurse back. The nurse points Andy to the room they were going to be in as she stops Sharon at the scale to take her weight.

"Looks like you're back on track for weight gain," The nurse comments as she marks down the number, "I'm guessing the nausea has dropped off since the last time we saw you?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods with a smile, "Thankfully."

"That's good," The nurse smiles before walking her down the hall to the room she had indicated to Andy. Sharon rolls her eyes as she finds her husband trying to put the anatomical model back together and the kids sitting on the patient bench looking properly chastised.

"Do I even want to know?" Sharon asks as she climbs onto the table, sitting on the edge as the nurse starts to get things ready to take her blood pressure.

"Probably not," Andy says as he gets the pieces to sit back together before letting go of it, smiling triumphantly as the model stays in one piece. He turns around and smiles at his wife as she holds her arm out to get her pressure taken, "Weight good?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods with a smile, looking over as the nurse tears the cuff open.

"Just a smidge high, but nothing to worry about right now," The nurse says as she writes down the number, "I am going to let the doctor know that you're ready. She should be just a couple moments."

"Thank you," Sharon says with a smile as she rolls her sleeve down. The nurse steps out of the room and Sharon sighs softly as she looks over at Andy, "What do you want to do for dinner?"

"Mmm, what do you want to do for dinner?" Andy counters.

"You know you're pretty close me being in the emotional space where you get hit for answers like that," Sharon says as her eyes narrow slightly.

"I like to toe the line," Andy smiles.

"Do we have time for lasagna?" Sharon asks after rolling her eyes.

"Sure," Andy nods, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I think we have most of the stuff at home. I can run out quick when we get back."

"Okay," Sharon smiles, sitting up a little straighter when the doctor comes in.

"How are you doing, Sharon?"

"Good," Sharon replies as the doctor skims her chart before looking over at the kids.

"I see we've brought the whole gang in today."

"Yeah, we thought they would like to see the ultrasound," Sharon explains before introducing the kids, "These are my stepchildren, Charlie and Nicole, and it's been a few years since you've seen Emily and Ricky."

"I told you he was going to be a tall one," The doctor says as she looks at Ricky.

"He's hit a couple growth spurts lately," Sharon says with a smile. The two of them talk for a few more minutes before Sharon lays back and pulls her shirt up. The doctor palpates her stomach with a careful hand.

"Any pain?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head.

"Momma, why's she poking you in the belly?" Ricky pipes up from his seat. Sharon laughs softly and looks over at him.

"She's seeing how big the babies are," Sharon tells him.

"Oh…won't she poke them in the eye?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head, "They are plenty protected."

"Oh…okay," Ricky shrugs and Sharon winks at him with a smile.

"Have you been feeling them move?" The doctor asks as she prods. Sharon nods and focuses back on her doctor.

"Yeah, the wiggles and flips. No big kicks or anything yet," Sharon says.

"Alright, let's take a peak inside and see what those two are up to," The doctor says as she pulls the ultrasound over before sitting down on her stool. She points to the tv mounted in the high corner of the room as she turns it on, "We just got these installed. We've been having more and more families come in so we thought the bigger screens would be nicer for everyone to look at instead of crowding around the ultrasound."

"That's a great idea," Sharon compliments. The doctor grabs the bottle of gel, shaking it a couple times before squirting some over Sharon's stomach. Andy points up at the tv screen to get the kids to watch as the doctor starts the ultrasound. He tightens his hand around hers, kissing her knuckles softly.

"Did you guys want to find out today?" The doctor asks, "What you're having?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head as she looks up at Andy, "We're still in for a surprise right?"

"I am if you are," Andy grins and winks.

"Okay," Sharon smiles back at him before looking at the doctor, "I think we'll keep it a surprise."

"Alright," The doctor smiles before continuing with her exam, focusing on the smaller screen as the family looks at the larger screen.

"They look like they're cuddling," Charlie points out as they look up at the screen. The doctor swipes to the side of Sharon's stomach and the kids eyes widen as the profile of one of the babies comes into view, "Whoa."

"That's inside you?"

"It is," Sharon nods, "Much smaller though."

"They're only about the size of a bell pepper right now," The doctor explains as she continues.

"Oh, we should have peppers with dinner," Sharon says to Andy, reaching back to hit him on the chest. He laughs softly and nods.

"Sure, honey."

"Aw, she's sucking her thumb," Emily says as the doctor switches sides and focuses in on the other baby. Sharon pulls her eyes away from the screen and looks at the doctor.

"They're doing okay?"

"They are doing just fine," The doctor assures her before turning the machine off and tearing off a strip of pictures she'd printed out. She hands the pictures to Andy and a couple tissues to Sharon as she sits up. She wipes her stomach off before rearranging her clothes, "I don't think we'll need to see you back before your next appointment, but call if you need anything and we'll fit you in."

"Sounds good," Sharon smiles, "Thank you."

* * *

[TBC]


	16. Chapter 16

**notes:** sorry to those that were hoping to find out the twins' gender. I still haven't decided yet what they are either! Shout out to **maidenpride** for pointing out that this mentioned past event was coming up!

* * *

 _"Did you hear that Conrad took a swing at O'Dwyer this afternoon? Bitch tried to demote her for taking kickbacks."_

Andy's feet thunk heavily against the stairs as he pounds his way down the staircase at the Parker Center. He flings the door to the fifth floor open, scaring the person on the other side. He doesn't pause to apologize as he brushes by them and makes his way down the hall, maintaining his quick pace. His furious pace doesn't alarm any of the officers on the floor since they were used to seeing him in an angry rush on their floor.

Sharon jumps as the door to her small office slams open, glaring at the intruder. Her glare only deepens when she realizes it's her husband. She drops the small ice pack she'd been cradling to her cheek onto her desk and flips her wrist, silently telling him to shut the door. Andy flips the door shut with a firm flick of his wrist and puts his hands on his hips.

"Why do I gotta keep hearing about you getting hurt from the goddamn LAPD grapevine?"

"Probably the same reason you think that it's okay for you to storm in here with that attitude," Sharon sighs as she drops her pen as well, leaning back in her chair, "Two hours is a record for it to reach your floor. I can probably guess that Taylor was down here."

"What happened?"

"Mary Conrad hit me earlier," Sharon says concisely, "It's not like we wrestled or anything. She threw one punch, half hearted at best. It's just going to be a bruise. I'm fine."

"You're five and a half months pregnant!" Andy exclaims, "You don't get to act like it's nothing."

"It is nothing," Sharon says. She looks at her watch and opens the side drawer to her desk, digging out an envelope before handing it to Andy, "I'm not going to get out of here on time. Can you make sure the painters get those samples? They said they'd be able to get finished by the weekend if we got them something tonight."

"Yeah," Andy grumbles as he snaps the envelope out of her hands before turning on his heel and leaving, slamming the door behind himself. Sharon sighs and shakes her head, putting the ice pack back to her cheek and picking up her pen again.

Their offer on the house had been accepted and while waiting to hear back there had been plenty of people sniffing around their house, interested in claiming it for their own. They had accepted an offer that was over asking and willing to work with their timeline to get into the new house. A couple small repairs had been done and they were having the fence around the pool installed along with getting the majority of the house painted on the inside. Once that was finished they were packing up and moving over.

Sharon's phone rings a few minutes later and she reaches over blindly to answer it.

"O'Dwyer."

"You picked the green," Andy's voice tumbles down the line at a distinctly quieter volume than when he was in her office. It takes Sharon a moment to shift her brain away from the reports in front of her to what Andy was talking about.

"What?"

"You picked the green, for the nursery."

"Oh, yeah," Sharon says as she leans back in her chair a little bit, "You didn't like the yellow. And the grey was a little too…grey."

"I'm sorry," Andy apologizes, "I shouldn't have yelled."

"No, you shouldn't have," Sharon agrees, "I'm fine, Andy…I would tell you if I wasn't."

"I know," Andy sighs, "How long are you going to be?"

"Couple more hours. Don't wait up for dinner. I'll just heat up something when I get home."

"Okay, don't stay too late."

"I won't," Sharon says, "Love you."

"You too," Andy replies before hanging up. Sharon drops her phone back into the cradle before returning to her work. She spends a couple more hours in her office on reports before packing up for the evening. She bundles up the folders she'd been working on and tucks them against her chest as she slings her bag over her shoulder. Her fingers flip the light off and she drops the folders in the larger office in the corner before heading towards the elevators.

"Late night, O'Dwyer?" A voice calls out from behind her. Sharon turns on her heel and smiles when she sees the owner.

"Detective Tao. Just leaving actually," Sharon says as the younger man steps up to her, "Are you just getting in?"

"Unfortunately, we just wrapped up a scene out in Silver Lake," Mike comments, "Gonna be a long night…lot of samples."

"I'm sure you'll get through it quickly," Sharon smiles.

"Picking fights?" He asks, gesturing to his own cheek in reference to hers. Sharon lifts her hand to her cheek and winces when she prods the tender flesh before rolling her eyes.

"Just another lovely day in Professional Standards," She replies.

"You put ice on it?"

"Earlier," Sharon nods as the elevator dings.

"Well I won't keep you, have a good evening," Mike bids as he steps back.

"You as well," Sharon says, offering him another small smile before stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the ground floor. She makes her way to the parking garage and the spot she'd left her car in earlier, hitting the button for the auto lock. Her bag gets deposited in the back seat before she pulls herself up into the drivers seat.

Sharon makes her way towards Los Feliz, taking a moment to stop at the tea store in their part of town. She says hello to the person behind the counter as she comes in, immediately heading for the wall of canisters. She grabs an old favorite, not wanting to take the time to search through the multi colored tins for a new flavor. Carrying it over to the counter she sets it down and digs in her purse for her wallet.

"Can I get a couple ounces of that?"

"Sure," The girl nods, picking up the canister before turning it around to look at the label. Her eyes glance up at Sharon before she unscrews the lid and turns the scale on, "Looks like this worked for you."

"Hmm?" Sharon hums as she diverts her attention from her wallet.

"This blend, looks like it worked."

"Worked?"

"This is a fertility blend," The girl says, turning the canister towards Sharon, "Red raspberry leaf, nettle, and red clover are all supposed to be fertility boosters, the raspberry and lemon are just for flavor."

"Oh," Sharon shakes her head, "I wasn't…I just liked the smell the first time I picked it."

"Well…congratulations," The girl smiles and bundles up the tea before handing the bag to Sharon, "When are you due?"

"February," Sharon says as she hands over her credit card. The girl runs the card and has Sharon sign the receipt before handing her card back to her.

"Good luck."

"Thanks," Sharon smiles before putting her card back and leaving the store. She finishes her trip home and pulls into the driveway behind Andy's car before climbing out and grabbing her bags, heading inside.

"Momma!" Ricky yells as he runs through the house to greet Sharon. She kicks her heels off and hangs up her things in preparation as she hears his tiny feet round the corner before he crashes into her.

"Oh my," Sharon grunts as she wraps her arms around Ricky, "Right in the bladder."

"Momma, I got to a new level on Mario," Ricky says as he grabs her hand and starts pulling her towards the living room, "Come look."

"Give me one second honey," Sharon says as she lets go of his hand, nudging him into the living room as she continues down to the hall to the bathroom. She steps out a couple moments later and makes her way back to meet Ricky, finding him sitting directly in front of the tv with the controller in his hand. Her hands slip under his arms and she scoots him back a few inches before pressing a kiss to his head, "Did you have a good day at school?"

"Mmhm!"

"Get your homework done?"

"Yup!"

"Okay," Sharon laughs, ruffling his hair before going in search of the other two. She stops by the entryway to grab her purchase from the tea store as well as her lunch bag before making her way into the kitchen where Andy was sitting at the table with Emily, looking over her homework, "Hey you two."

"Hey," Andy looks up from the worksheet in front of him as Emily hops down from her chair.

"Mommy!" The girl exclaims as she wraps her arms around Sharon.

"Hi my darling," Sharon says, setting her things down on the counter before wrapping her arms around Emily and squeezing her tight, "Oh I missed you. Did you have a good day?"

"Yes!" Emily nods, resting her chin on Sharon's belly as she looks up at her, "I got a new book for us to read today."

"You did? I can't wait," Sharon smiles, "We'll have to start it tonight. Is Dad looking over your homework?"

"Yup. I had math tonight," Emily replies, before whispering not so subtly, "It's not his favorite. Hey! What happened to your face?"

"Oh believe me, I know that," Sharon laughs before shaking her head, "It's nothing, I just got into an argument with someone at work. I'm fine."

"Are you hungry? We have left overs," Emily offers as she pulls away from Sharon to walk over to the fridge, "Daddy made chicken with noodles and broccoli."

"I am starving, but you don't have to get me dinner."

"I want to. You sit down," Emily says firmly as she opens the refrigerator door and pulls out the containers that Andy had put food into.

"Yes, ma'am," Sharon says, holding her hands up as she gives Andy a bemused look before taking a seat next to him at the table. She watches as Emily gets a plate down from the cupboard before dishing out leftovers onto it and putting it in the microwave. Her tongue sticks out as she jams a time in before pressing the start button. She stands on her tip toes to reach over and turn the water on, rinsing off the utensils she'd used before putting the food back into the fridge. Emily pours a glass of milk and brings it over to the table as the microwave goes off, running over to grab the plate from inside before bringing it to the table with a fork.

"Here you go."

"Thank you honey," Sharon smiles and presses a kiss to Emily's cheek as she takes the fork from her. Andy hands the girl her worksheets with a smile.

"Why don't you go put these in your bag, monkey?"

"Did I get them?"

"You did, you got them all," Andy nods. Emily gives him a wide grin before running off to put the papers in her backpack. Sharon pulls her plate closer and starts to eat, reaching out to squeeze Andy's arm.

"Did you get those paint samples in?"

"Yeah, they'll start tomorrow. They actually think they should be able to be done by Thursday, and they'll leave the windows open to air out," Andy says, "Said we could start bringing stuff over this weekend."

"This weekend would be good, we could do it all in one go. I'll have to call the movers in the morning."

"I already called them, and they are available this weekend if we want them," Andy smiles. Sharon hums as she chews over her bite, leaning over to press a kiss to Andy's cheek.

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Once or twice," He teases. Sharon smacks him on the arm and shakes her head as she goes back to her dinner, "How's the food?"

"Ah…little chilly in the middle, but it's good," Sharon laughs as she continues to eat, "They're laying it on a little thick tonight…"

"I might have mentioned you had a long day at work," Andy says, "In passing…before extra dessert."

"I did have a long day," Sharon sighs, leaning her head against Andy's shoulder as she finishes dinner. Once she's done he takes her plate and carries it to the sink, stopping to empty out her lunch box as well.

"Didn't want your grapes?" Andy asks as he shakes the container at her before putting it back in the fridge

"No," Sharon shakes her head, "I apparently wanted gummy bears instead. That vending machine is going to be the end of my thighs."

"That's a new one," Andy chuckles as he grabs an ice pack out of the freezer and wraps it in a towel. He brings it over to Sharon and offers it to her, leaning against the edge of the table.

"Wanna hear something funny?" Sharon asks as she holds the pack to her cheek.

"I would love to hear something funny," Andy says.

"You remember that little tea shop on the boulevard? That I get the loose leaf from?"

"Yeah," Andy replies, drawing the word out slightly, not expecting the joke to start with tea.

"I stopped tonight and just got a little bit of what I normally get," Sharon explains, "I took it to the counter to check out and the girl working said it 'looks like it worked'. I was confused at first, how does tea 'work'? To which she proceeded to explain that the blend that I have been buying _since February_ is allegedly supposed to increase fertility."

"Wait what?" Andy says with a laugh as he looks down at her, an incredulous look on his face, "It's tea. It tastes like raspberry and lemon…raspberries and lemons don't get you pregnant."

"Well apparently it's the other three things in it that were doing the magic," Sharon laughs and rolls her eyes, "I mean I doubt it had anything to do with anything, but I thought it was an interesting bit of information."

"And all this time you were blaming me."

" _Regardless_ you still had errant sperm out there in your junk," Sharon reminds him, "My portion of the equation wouldn't have been an issue if not for that little tidbit."

"It's not little," Andy grins, letting out an 'oof' as Sharon hits him in the stomach.

* * *

[TBC]


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes:** thanks to all for the reviews! This is a mostly pointless smut chapter...cause reasons. Enjoy!

* * *

Andy grunts as he lifts up the front crib panel and holds it in place as he drills it into the rest of the crib. He walks around and makes sure all of the pieces are secured before installing the mattress panel. Unwrapping the mattress propped up in the corner he lifts it into the bed and drops it down before pushing the crib against the wall next to the other one.

"Honey, what are you doing in here?" Sharon asks as she steps into the bedroom, wrapped in her robe. Her hair was damp and hanging around her shoulders and her skin was bright pink from the heat of the shower.

"Oh, uh, just putting the cribs together," Andy shrugs as he kicks the empty boxes and plastic wrap into one corner. There was still a changing table and dresser to be put together that he'd tackle the next day.

The house had been painted earlier in the week and the movers had spent all of Saturday trekking their stuff across town. Vicky had offered to take Emily and Ricky for the weekend and Lily had been sent to the kennel so they could focus on getting the house set up and unpacking without all of them underfoot. The things that had been able to be moved with its contents intact were helpful in limiting their unpacking requirements. The furniture had been placed where Sharon wanted it and the few boxes they had were littered around the house in the appropriate rooms.

They had sent the moving crew home a little before dinner time and Andy had been tasked with ordering them dinner while Sharon had unpacked enough essentials to take a shower. After putting in an order for a couple of pizzas with some sides Andy had moved onto the nursery and started putting together the cribs while he waited for his wife.

"You didn't have to do that, the movers could have taken care of it," Sharon says as she steps further into the room and walks over to Andy, wrapping an arm around his waist, "That _is_ what we hired them for."

"I wanted to do it," Andy says, "Make sure it was done right."

"Mmm, you're too sweet," Sharon murmurs, leaning up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. Andy hums and kisses her back softly, only pulling back when the doorbell rings.

"That will be dinner."

"Then I should probably go put some clothes on," Sharon grins.

"Don't do that on my account," Andy winks and gives her a squeeze before heading for the front door, digging his wallet out of his jeans. He opens the door and greets the delivery man, "How much do I owe you?"

"Uh $27.52."

"Alright," Andy digs some cash out of his wallet before handing it over as he takes the pizzas, "Keep the change."

"Thanks," Andy closes the door and carries the food into the kitchen, surprised to find Sharon leaning over a box in her robe digging out a couple plates and glasses for them, "I thought you were going to get dressed."

"You said I didn't need to," Sharon says as she sets out the tableware, a playful smile on her lips.

"You don't," Andy grins as he opens the boxes, "So, we have a heartburn special with pepperoni, jalapeños, onions, olives, and peppers, and a ham and pineapple, extra cheese."

"Yes please," Sharon says as she fills her glass with milk.

"Which one?" Andy asks, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Both," Sharon laughs as she reaches out and puts a breadstick on her plate.

"Ah," Andy grins and grabs her a piece of both before putting them on her plate, grimacing as she grabs a bottle of ranch from the fridge and drizzles it over the top of both of them. He shakes his head as she offers him the bottle, "No thank you."

"Don't wrinkle your nose at me like that," Sharon says, "It's good."

"Darling, there are a lot of things you've eaten the last couple months…As long as you like them," Andy replies and grabs his own pizza and breadsticks. He opens one of the cups of marinara sauce and puts it on his plate before nudging Sharon out to the dining room. Andy sets his plate down on the table and pulls her chair out for her.

"Why thank you," Sharon smiles as she sits down. The two of them eat dinner together, managing to polish off an entire pizza before tucking the leftovers away into the fridge. Sharon hums in interest as she pulls a smaller box towards herself, "What's this?"

"Dessert," Andy says as he shuts the fridge. He turns around and wraps his arms around Sharon's waist, slipping his hands inside her robe. He rubs his palms over her stomach and presses a kiss to her neck as she lets out a happy sound upon opening the box and finding cinnamon sugar bread inside, "Doing okay?"

"Mmhm," Sharon nods as she pulls a piece off and pops it in her mouth. She leans into his hold and turns her head to press a kiss to his jaw.

"They're doing quite a number on you," Andy comments as he feels tiny feet and hands poking and prodding at his wide palms.

"They're like an octopus," Sharon comments as she feeds Andy some of the bread, "Always wiggling and flailing around. They're probably going to be up for a while, they were asleep until I got into the shower."

"Mmm," Andy hums as he chews, nuzzling the soft spot behind her ear as the scruff on his cheeks scrapes against her delicate skin. He pulls back as he hears a hum in her throat. His teeth tug playfully at her earlobe as his fingers tug at the knot of the robe's sash, "No kids…"

"What did you have in mind?" Sharon asks as she tips her head to the side, "There _are_ boxes everywhere."

"Whatever you want," Andy murmurs against her skin.

"Couch?" Sharon suggests. They had put their old couch down in the basement for the kids' playroom and ordered a new sectional for the living room upstairs. There was a chaise on one end that they'd both had dirty thoughts about when walking around the furniture store.

"Couch sounds good," Andy agrees as he finally lets his fingers pull the sash to her robe open and let his hands run up her front, cupping her breasts in his hands. Sharon moans and arches into his touch while her fingers pull one more piece of dessert loose.

"One more piece," She says as she stuffs the chunk of buttery sweat bread into her mouth, laughing as her husband pulls her towards the living room.

"If I fed you while we had sex you'd be in heaven wouldn't you?" Andy inquires as he drops down onto the chaise.

"Right now? Yes," Sharon smiles as she licks her lips. She kneels down next to Andy and reaches out, undoing the fly on his jeans before tugging them down his legs. He sits up a bit and tugs his t-shirt off, tossing it on the floor before leaning back with his hands behind his head, "I thought you were propositioning me. If I'm going to do all the work I might as well go upstairs and play with our new shower head."

"Oh you are such a tease," Andy laughs. He pushes himself up off the couch and walks around to stand in front of Sharon, cupping her cheeks in his hands as he kisses her hungrily. Sharon's toes curl into the rug as she pushes herself into him, kissing him back with equal fervor. He lets his calloused fingers stroke over her soft skin as he kisses her, pausing to massage her breasts and gently run his palms over the curve of her stomach.

Sharon's lips curl into a smile as she feels both of the twins kick back against Andy's touch. She bites softly at his jaw, gasping as his hands slip further down to her hips and spin her around to face away from him. His hands continue down her thighs as far as he can reach before moving back up and pulling the robe off her shoulders. He drops it on the floor next to his own clothes, pressing his lips to her shoulder.

"You smell good," He compliments. The ends of her hair were still slightly damp and fresh with the scent of her shampoo.

"So do you," Sharon grins.

"I am sweaty, there's no way I smell good," Andy says.

"I like it," Sharon says as she turns her head to look at Andy. He captures her lips in a quick kiss before nudging her towards the couch.

"On your knees," He demands in a tone he reserved for talking to people he had under arrest. Sharon groans and drops one knee onto the cushion before pushing up to bring the other one next to it. Andy runs his fingers down her spine before nudging her forward. She braces herself on her forearms and flips her hair over one shoulder as she looks back at him with dark eyes.

Andy grips her ass in his hands and growls while his own eyes darken. He slips his fingers between her legs, a groan falling from his lips as he finds her warm and wet. Sharon's head drops forward and her nails scrape gently against the fabric of the couch. She bites her lip as she feels her husband poised at her entrance, his hands clutching at her hips.

"Please," Sharon whimpers.

"Please what?"

"Take me," She begs. Andy grinds his teeth together as he thrusts into her. He sits for a moment, buried into her depths, before she bucks back against him and encourages him to move. He quickly finds a rhythm as he moves within her, the sounds of their coupling filling the quiet house.

"God Shar," Andy groans as his hips buck fast against hers. His fingers dig into her skin.

"Oh god," Sharon moans in response. She stretches her arms out in front of her, clutching at the edge of the cushion as her nipples rub against the fabric. She gasps as he slams into her and pulls his hands away. She clutches her eyes closed as she feels his arm snake around her waist, his fingers hovering against her, teasingly brushing the soft hair at her core.

"You…" Andy says in a low tone as he slips his fingers between her lips, "Are…so perfect…"

"Andyyyy," Sharon whines. He grins and begins to massage his fingers against her, waiting a beat before beginning to move his hips again, "Oh yes, right there!"

Andy groans as he continues to move, pushing harder and faster against her. Sharon flexes her hips back against him and meets him thrust for thrust before crying out his name into the throw pillow as she cums hard. He groans as he feels her tighten around him, burying himself in her depths as his own release floods him. Her muscles pulse around him, milking him for everything.

Andy collapses on the couch next to her after a few more half hearted thrust, panting. Sharon lets out a breathless laugh as she rolls to the side, half laying on him. He wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her close before capturing her lips in a deep kiss. She hums and kisses him back while her hand cups his cheek. She pulls back after a moment and nips at his bottom lip as she gives him a playful look.

"We should probably move this to the bedroom…I really don't want to get cum stains on the new couch the day we got it," She laughs. Andy groans and rolls his eyes with a smile on his face. He slips out from under her and picks up their clothes, tossing them on top of her, "Andy!"

"What?" Andy teases before sweeping his arms under her shoulders and knees, lifting her off the couch.

"ANDY!" Sharon squeals, her arms shooting to tighten around his neck. Andy winks at her and carries her towards their bedroom.

"Keep that idea in mind in reference to other bodily fluids," He says, "We don't need your water breaking all over the…OW!"

"Oh sorry, was that you that I pinched?" Sharon says innocently.

"Yes, it was."

"Hmm…funny."

* * *

[TBC]


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes:** Glad people enjoyed the smutty break, a bit of a short chatty chapter for you. Probably only a couple more chapters before we meet the bouncing bundles.

* * *

Sharon takes a deep breath and sighs as she shifts her weight, dragging her toes against her calf to scratch an itchy spot. She drags the highlighter in her hand over an entry in the book she had resting against her stomach. Her head lifts when she hears the door downstairs open and Andy's voice start filtering up to the main floor along with Vicky's.

"Daddy!" Emily and Ricky yell, jumping up from the couch to meet their father at the stairs. Sharon grins to herself as the four kids begin to run circles around him, peppering him with questions as he brings the groceries into the kitchen. Nicole wanted to know what they were having for dinner, Ricky wanted a snack, Charlie wanted to know if they had any juice boxes, Emily wanted to tell him about the part she had gotten in the Christmas recital.

"Alright!" Andy raises his voice after a couple minutes, "The four of you, outside!"

"But, Dad!" The four of them echo.

"No, outside until I put the groceries away and get dinner going," Andy says, stuffing a juice box in each of their hands before pointing them towards the back door. The kids grumble before running outside, calling out for Lily to follow them and slamming the door behind themselves, "Jesus, they're like vultures."

"And yet you're having two more," Vicky teases.

"You're the one who wanted me to stay off of my feet," Sharon calls out from the couch. Vicky laughs at her ex-husband's face before grabbing a juice box and heading to the living room to talk to Sharon.

"How are you doing?" Vicky asks as she sits down on one of the foot stools. Sharon grunts as she pushes herself into a sitting position, dropping the book and highlighter next to her leg after putting the cap on. She expertly shoves a pillow behind her back before sinking back against it and resting both hands on her stomach.

"Oh just fine…" Sharon huffs, "Nothing like having almost twelve weeks left and being on maternity leave already."

"I've been wondering how he managed that," Vicky says as she unwraps the straw before shoving it into the foil opening.

" _He_ didn't manage anything," Sharon sighs with a shrug, "My blood pressure's been up and down and all over the place. So my doctor thought it would be better for me to not work until they decide to come. He has, however, been acting like I am going to keel over at any minute and stole my grocery list from me this morning!"

"I can hear you!"

"That's the point," Sharon grins, "Anyway, it's fine so far, but it's only been a couple days."

"Just before the holidays," Vicky points out, "I'm sure there's a few cops right now cursing you for getting them off."

"There's one in the kitchen."

"What are you guys doing for Thanksgiving next week?" Vicky asks. She'd been dropping the kids off after their evening activities to spend the first part of their holiday break with their father and stepmother.

"Unless I can convince him otherwise, not much," Sharon groans with a roll of her eyes, "Connie and Sophia were supposed to come out next week for the holiday and long weekend, but they're not going to be able to make it. Andy doesn't want me up all day making dinner and he's supposed to be on call. I was thinking of watching the parade with the kids in the morning, football in the afternoon and ordering something in for dinner, maybe Chinese."

"Why don't you guys come over to ours?" Vicky suggests, "We're not doing anything special. Dan's family is visiting his brother this year, so it will be us and the kids and my mother."

"We wouldn't want to impose…" Sharon starts to say.

"Nonsense. We'll have plenty of food already and the kids can keep each other entertained," Vicky continues, "You can watch my mom goad Andy all afternoon."

"Why is your mom goading me?" Andy asks as he walks into the living room, a towel draped over his shoulder and his sleeves rolled up.

"Vicky was inviting us over for Thanksgiving," Sharon says as she turns her head to look at him, "Since someone won't let me make dinner."

"There's no reason for you to be on your feet all day to make some elaborate dinner for the four of us," Andy argues again as he leans against the back of the couch.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sharon rolls her eyes as she grins at him.

"Anyway, you don't have to decide now, but the invite is open," Vicky says as she pushes herself up off of her perch before looking at Andy, "You'll drop the kids off Wednesday afternoon?"

"Yep," Andy nods, "I'll walk you out."

"She's turned you into quite the gentleman," Vicky teases as Andy walks her back down to the garage and out to her car. He comes back upstairs a few moments later finding the tv off and the stereo on, playing quiet classical music. Sharon had disappeared from the couch, her book and highlighter gone as well. Andy peaks outside and frowns when he doesn't see her down with the kids.

"Shar?"

"Kitchen!" Sharon calls back out. Andy rolls his eyes and makes his way towards the kitchen, admonishment already on his tongue. It dies when he sees her sitting on one of the stools they had around the island leaning over her book. She looks up at him and smiles, "Sorry, I needed a change of scenery."

"It's okay," Andy says as he presses a kiss to her lips before resuming working on dinner.

"What do you think about going to Vicky's next week?" Sharon asks.

"As much as I would love to spend the afternoon being poked at by her mother…" Andy shrugs with a small smile, "We can go. I'm sure it'd be a nice afternoon, Vick does make a pretty good turkey."

"No talking about other women's turkey," Sharon says as her eyes narrow.

"Doesn't beat yours," Andy says as he leans over and captures her lips again.

"I could make you one if you would quit being such a…"

"A what?"

"You know what," Sharon says as she shoves his face away with a roll of her eyes. Andy grumbles before grabbing the dish in front of him and putting it in the oven. He sets the timer before wiping his hands off and cleaning up. Sharon sighs as she taps the highlighter against the counter and watches him move.

"What?"

"Hmm?" Sharon asks.

"You sighed."

"Oh, I was just thinking," Sharon says, "What do you think about Drew? For a boy…or a girl, I suppose."

"Drew?"

"Mmhm," Sharon nods, resting her chin in her hand as she looks at Andy, "I was looking at names today and we have to pick two of each. And I liked the idea of naming one of them after you. But I wanted to know what you thought."

"I think I'm hardly worthy of naming someone after," Andy says honestly as he drops the towel in his hands onto the counter.

"That is far from the truth," Sharon replies as she looks across the island at her husband, "I think you're very worthy."

"You have to say that, you married me," Andy jokes half heartedly.

"I don't have to say anything," Sharon tells him, "You're a great husband and father, an amazing police officer…"

"An alcoholic, divorced, and I've been told I have one of the largest packages in the LAPD," Andy points out.

"Andy…" Sharon shakes her head, "We all have our faults. They make us who we are. And you've more than made up for yours."

"Have I?"

"Quite," Sharon says, holding out a hand to him. He walks around the edge of the island and closer to her. He takes her hand and lets a smile flit over his lips as she forcefully tugs him closer. She pulls him down and captures his lips in a deep kiss before letting him go, "You…I love you, so much."

"I love you too," Andy murmurs as he looks down at her.

"You are a great man," She tells him with a smile, "And we're naming one of our kids after you."

"Yes ma'am," Andy salutes.

"Smartass," Sharon says as she pinches his ear.

"Ow!" Andy yelps. Sharon turns his head and soothes the injury with a soft kiss, laughing as she feels his arms snake around her form.

"You set me up didn't you?"

"I did," Andy murmurs as he presses a kiss to her neck and holds her as close as he can. Sharon smiles and lets him hold her for a few moments before shifting their position and resting her head against his shoulder, "So - one down. Two to go?"

"Mmhm," Sharon nods and slides the book across the counter towards him, "Why don't you take a look at this? And let me know what you think."

"I can do that," Andy smiles. The two take a few minutes to enjoy a quiet moment as he rubs his hand up her back. He turns his head and presses a soft kiss to her head as his other hand rubs gently over her belly. The twins were asleep, they had a tendency to wake up later in the evening to wreak havoc on their mother's insides.

"Let's just stay home next week," Sharon says after a bit. She shifts her head to look up at Andy, brushing a stray few strands out of her face, "It'll be the last quiet holiday we'll have for a while. We can relax in our pajamas all day and order Chinese food while we watch football."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Andy murmurs as he looks down at her.

"Next year though…I am making the biggest turkey we can find this side of the Mississippi," Sharon threatens, "Maybe even two kinds of stuffing."

"I can't wait."

* * *

[TBC]


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes:** Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! This one's a bit of a long one - I couldn't find a good place to cut it. Enjoy!

* * *

Andy groans softly as he rolls over and finds the other side of the bed empty. There was a small pile of pillows on the floor next to Sharon's side of the bed and he couldn't see the light in the bathroom on. He sits quietly for a few moments, listening to the quiet before slipping out of bed and stuffing his feet into his slippers. As he stands he notices one of the chairs on the porch occupied. Andy slides the door open quietly before stepping out, jumping as the cold air hits the skin of his chest.

"Shit, Sharon, it's freezing out here," He comments as he steps past his wife and drops into the other chair. It was the middle of winter and the nights were dropping down into the 40s.

"I think it feels nice," Sharon comments as she looks over at him, a tired smile on her lips.

"I'd expect so," Andy smiles back. It seemed to him the further she got along in her pregnancy the hotter she seemed to run. They were down to a single sheet on the bed and she was still wearing her summer nightgowns. The extra five pillows in the bed didn't help anything either, "Can't sleep?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head with a sigh, "My back hurts and I can't get comfortable, by the time I do get comfortable I have to pee again or they wake up. No reason both of us need to lose sleep."

"I'd lose sleep with you any day," Andy replies, reaching out to take her hand.

"Charmer," Sharon says as she threads her fingers through his. Andy sighs as he looks over at her, watching as she rocks the chair back and forth while she massages the side of her stomach with her fingertips. Her eyes were focused on the rising and sloping hills and bit of city they could see from their back yard. They flick over as she notices Andy shiver. She squeezes his hand and smiles at him, "Let's go in. You can rub my back."

"Whatever you want," Andy says as he stands from his chair. He extends his other hand to Sharon and helps her out of the chair. He waits for her to gain her footing before putting his hands on her stomach, "They're quiet tonight."

"They are running out of room," Sharon replies, covering his hands with hers, "I give them a month at best."

"Yeah?" Andy arches his eyebrow as he looks up at her.

"There's no way I'm making it to February," Sharon snorts with a laugh as she steps away from Andy and slides the door open to go back inside. She picks up her pillows from the floor with a groan, tossing them all back onto the bed. Andy walks through to the bathroom and grabs the bottle of lotion from her vanity before coming back to the bedroom.

Sharon tugs off her nightgown and drapes it over the foot of the bed. She grimaces as she tugs at the straps on the sports bra she was wearing, adjusting where they were sitting on her shoulders before climbing into bed. Andy kicks his slippers off and kneels onto the bed as Sharon settles on her side against the mountain of pillows. He drops the lotion onto his pillow, grabbing a folded piece of paper from his drawer and giving it to his wife.

"Here you think about that while I work my magic fingers," Andy smiles as he screws the lid off of the lotion, scooping a small amount into his hand. He rubs his palms together to warm it up a bit before focusing his attention on the small of Sharon's back, working his fingers into the strained muscles.

"What is this?" Sharon asks as she unfolds the paper, noting that it had been folded and refolded a few times.

"You wanted me to look at names."

"A month ago," Sharon points out.

"It's an important task," Andy laughs, "I've been a little busy."

" _You've_ been busy?"

"I have. You see," Andy draws out, "I have this job that drives me insane and makes me question humanity day in and day out. And I have a couple of kids that are really smart that do all of these awesome things. _And_ I have this addiction that I try to beat and keep at bay."

"Sounds like a lot," Sharon says.

"But I also have this wife who also has a lot of shit on her shoulders. And she still helps me deal with my stuff…and forgives me when I forget things sometimes," Andy explains, "I also know how important some things are to her, so instead of being a big, bumbling oaf as I tend to be on occasion…I take my time."

"Did you just call yourself a big, bumbling oaf?" Sharon asks as she looks over her shoulder.

"You even make my vocabulary better," Andy smiles. Sharon laughs and drops her head back down to the pillow, her shoulders shaking as he continues to massage her back. She reaches around her side and squeezes one of his hands.

"You're _my_ big bumbling oaf," She murmurs.

"Always," Andy says, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. He leans closer a few minutes later when he doesn't hear any response from her, finding her fast asleep with the paper tucked against her chest. He kisses her shoulder again and smoothes his hands down her back before pulling the sheet up to her hip. He slowly eases down on his side of the bed before closing his eyes with a sigh. If they were lucky, they'd get a couple hours before they were up again.

The next time Sharon woke up she was surprised to see that it was light outside, even if barely so. She frowns when she sees Andy's side of the bed empty and a crumpled note on his pillow. She groans and pushes herself out of bed, rubbing her eyes on the way to the bathroom. After using the facilities and washing her hands she steps into the closet and blindly grabs a loose t-shirt dress from the pile she had going on one of the shelves. She pulls it over her head and rakes her hair into a pony tail before walking back to the bed to grab Andy's note.

 _Got called in, I'll call later. -A_

Sharon sighs as she sets the note on his bedside table before grabbing the list of names he'd given to her earlier before she fell asleep. She sets it on her bedside table and grabs the couple glasses she had, carrying them down the hall towards the kitchen. She dumps the drinks out and puts the glasses in the dishwasher before starting the kettle and pulling down a fresh mug. She gets a bag of mint tea out of the cupboard and puts it in the cup, chewing on her bottom lip as she waits.

Her wrist expertly turns the burner off as the whistle starts and she fills her cup before carrying it to the nursery. There were laundry baskets and bins all over the room and she was still making sense of the organization she wanted. Andy had put together the large furniture pieces for her. The cribs were both against the sage colored accent wall they had painted in the room in contrast to the rest of the walls being a cool, green tinted white. The changing table and dresser were underneath the window with the rocking chair sitting between them and the cribs. However, things weren't exactly 'filled in' yet.

Since Sharon had been on maternity leave she'd made her attempts at organizing the nursery, but nothing had stuck. Her nesting instinct hadn't come out of high gear since the move and it was making it impossible to leave anything in its place. Andy had finally wrangled her down to just the nursery after finding the coffee cups and his underwear in a different spot four days in a row.

Sharon sighs and takes a sip of her tea before sitting it on the small side table next to the rocking chair. She bites her lip as she looks at the mess, trying to decide if she was going to get on the floor or bend. After weighing her options for a moment she lands on bending, knowing if she got down on the floor she wasn't getting up until Andy got home.

By the time she hears the first footsteps out in the hall Sharon had made the beds, putting clean sheets on each of the mattresses and folding the hand knit blankets her mother had sent for Christmas over the side. Mobiles had been hung and tested, boxes of diapers organized in the closet, and she had made decent headway in putting their clothes and accessories away. Emily pads in and walks across the room to climb into the rocking chair, putting her little feet up on the stool.

"Hi monkey," Sharon murmurs as she finishes folding the onsie in her hands.

"Where's Daddy?" Emily murmurs as she rolls on her side, her eyes barely open.

"He got called in to work," Sharon tells her as she continues folding in order to give her a few more minutes to wake up.

"Can we have waffles for breakfast?" The girl asks after a few moments, turning her brown eyes on her mother.

"Sure, we can definitely do that," Sharon smiles, finishing up her task before holding her hand out to Emily, "Grab my cup for me."

"Okay," Emily says as she scrambles up from the chair, grabbing Sharon's cup for her before taking her hand. The two of them walk down to the kitchen and Emily puts the cup on the counter next to the sink before getting a stool out to stand on. They work in quiet tandem as they put together the familiar batter. As Emily stirs the ingredients Sharon gets out the various toppings the kids liked.

"You think you can handle making the waffles while I make some eggs?"

"Sure," Emily nods as she licks off her thumb. Sharon sprays the waffle iron for her and keeps a watchful eye as she dishes out the batter and turns the iron over to cook. She cooks up a bowl full of eggs and takes them out to the table before grabbing the place settings and bringing them out.

The smell of food was starting to wake the others up, bringing them trudging out of their rooms. Sharon helps Emily finish up the waffles before sending her to the table with the stack. She gets each of the kids a glass of milk before sinking down into the chair at the end of the table and reaching out to grab a waffle for herself.

"Where's Dad?" Charlie asks as he cuts apart his waffle.

"He is at work. But he's supposed to call later," Sharon answers.

"Aw we were supposed to go to the zoo," Nicole whines, "They just got a lemur."

"We can still go to the zoo," Sharon tells her after taking a sip of her milk.

"No, Daddy said you need to relax," Ricky says as he shakes his head. She bites back a quick retort, taking a deep breath before responding with a smile.

"I can relax with you guys at the zoo. We can go after breakfast, spend the day," Sharon argues back. She finishes off her waffle before taking the rest of the eggs. Once the kids finish she sends them off to get dressed as she cleans up the dishes. She eats the last couple bites of waffle before turning the dishwasher on and going to get dressed herself.

Sharon discards her t-shirt dress for a large olive green sweater and a pair of black stretchy leggings. She opts for sandals and cleans up her ponytail before going to gather the kids. Her purse gets plucked off of the coat rack as they make their way downstairs to the garage. She slides the seat back slightly as she climbs up into the truck, shifting the steering wheel into a higher position before putting the keys in the ignition and pressing the button on the garage door opener.

"Everyone buckled?"

"Buckled!" Sharon smiles before backing out and pulling up the drive. She hits the second button to close the gate, making sure it closes before pulling down the street. She drives them across town and manages to find a parking spot close to the entrance before turning the car off.

"Alright, you guys stay close today, okay? I don't have your dad here to send running off after you," Sharon tells the kids before getting out with them.

The five of them spend their day at the zoo, slowly making their way through the exhibits. Sharon spends most of her time sitting on benches close to the kids, watching as they peer into the encasements with wonder on their faces. She manages to wrangle the boys away from the reptile house and makes sure they go by the lemurs that Nicole had wanted to see. They eat lunch at the cafe and make their way by the giraffes, Sharon shelling out a few extra dollars so the kids could feed the long necked animals. They stop by the gift shop on their way back to the car later in the afternoon and each of the kids pick out a stuffed animal. Sharon even suggested they pick out a set for the twins, laughing as she watched them perusing through the collection to pick the right ones.

"What should we have for dinner?" Sharon asks as they walk towards the car. Her feet were killing her and her back hurt, but the kids were happy.

"Chicken nuggets!" Charlie exclaims with a jump.

"You had chicken nuggets for lunch," Sharon laughs as she unlocks the car.

"I love them," Charlie replies as he runs ahead to get into he car.

"Daddy's pasta," Emily offers with a smile as she runs behind Charlie, Nicole pulling up the rear for the three of them to get into the back row. Ricky climbs into the middle row and Sharon shuts the door before going around to the drivers side.

"I think we have some sauce leftover in the freezer," Sharon says, "So we can make that happen."

"And garlic bread?" Nicole asks.

"Sure," Sharon smiles at the four of them in the rearview mirror before turning the engine over and backing out of the spot. She drives them back across town to the house and pulls into the garage, surprised to see Andy's car in its spot. She turns the engine off and looks back at the kids, "I want you guys to go inside and get cleaned up okay? You can play for a bit while I make dinner."

"Okay!" The kids call back as they clamor out of the car. Sharon groans as she climbs down from the driver's seat and makes her way inside. She jumps when she gets to the top of the stairs and finds herself immediately accosted by her husband.

"Where the hell have you been?" Andy asks, jumping up from the couch. Sharon could tell he had been stewing for a while.

"I took the kids to the zoo," Sharon answers as she hangs her purse up and kicks her sandals off. She digs the bag from the gift shop out of her purse and pulls out a pair of panda bears, showing them to Andy, "What they picked out for the twins."

"I called at 10 o' clock this morning!" Andy exclaims, "No answer. I figure you're outside, so I call back at 11, no answer. 1130 - no answer. I leave and come home at lunch and no ones home. You've been gone for hours!"

"Did I miss a meeting where we decided I was under house arrest?" Sharon asks as she makes her way down the hall to the nursery. She puts a bear in each crib before turning around and heading back to the kitchen, Andy hot on her heels the whole time.

"You're not but you can't…"

"I would _seriously_ rethink finishing that sentence," Sharon says as she opens the freezer and locates a container of frozen pasta sauce. She gets out a pot and puts it on the stovetop before running water around the outside of the container, waiting for it to thaw enough to take out.

"I had no idea where you were, what if something had happened?" Andy asks.

"I have my ID and badge on me, you would have been called," Sharon says as she drops the frozen block of sauce into the pot before turning the burner on low and adding half a container of water, "The kids would have been seen to until you could have gotten there. We have spent years drilling into their heads what to do in an emergency. I'm not an invalid or a moron Andy, don't treat me like one."

"You're eight months pregnant."

"Still doesn't make me an invalid," Sharon says with fire in her eyes, turning to him and putting her hands on her currently non existent hips, "As much as you like to think I can, I _cannot_ handle being locked up in this house all damn day. If I want to take the kids to the zoo I will. If I want to do the grocery shopping I will. They're going to come when they're going to come…there's not much we can do to stop it and we're not going to have any better of a chance if I'm here at home or at the store."

"Sharon…"

"I need you to breathe every once in a while. If you wind yourself any tighter your back is going to snap from all of the pressure," Sharon bites back, "I am so sick of having this argument. I've done this before. They're down the hall and perfectly healthy."

"I know," Andy sighs, losing some of his steam, "I worry about you."

"I am aware," Sharon replies while turning to get a box of pasta down from the pantry, "Are you actually home or were you just waiting around to yell at me?"

"I should go back," Andy mumbles and reaches up to rub the back of his neck.

"Then you should get going," Sharon points out as she gets another pot out and puts water on to boil. Andy sighs and steps around the island, leaning down to press a kiss to her head. He frowns when she turns away, "I'll leave your pillow out for you."

"Right…"

"Be safe," Sharon says before he can leave the kitchen.

"I will."

* * *

[TBC]


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! We're inching closer to meeting the twins!

* * *

Andy ended up spending four days on the couch before Sharon was ready to let him back into bed. Yet by the time she was ready to let him back into bed she was making her way out to the living room, asking if he wouldn't mind staying on the couch. She'd finally been able to get comfortable with the extra room to sprawl out and was getting more solid stretches of sleep than she had in months.

"Just until they get here," Sharon says as she runs her fingers through his hair, "And then I want you back in there with me."

"Of course," Andy nods, offering her a small smile, "Whatever's going to make you comfortable."

"Thank you," Sharon smiles back and leans down to press a kiss to his lips, "Have a good day at work, okay?"

"I will," Andy pushes himself up from the couch and drops another kiss on her lips before grabbing his suit jacket, "I love you, I'll see you later."

"Love you too," Sharon replies as she walks him to the door. She turns around and finds Lily standing behind her wagging her tail, "You wanna go for a walk girl? Let's go for a walk!"

Later in the evening when Andy gets home Sharon looks up from her book and smiles at him as she sits nestled against his pillow with her feet tucked under her body the best she can. He leans down and kisses her forehead before shrugging his jacket off and draping it over the back of the couch.

"Hi Daddy!" The kids greet as they look up at him. Emily was sitting on the floor watching tv while Ricky was curled up next to Sharon playing with his Gameboy.

"Hey, you guys have a good day?" Andy asks. Both of the kids offer a mumbled response with nods. Sharon lifts her hand and brushes it against his arm.

"They already had dinner, are you hungry?"

"I am starving," Andy says with a smile, "Why don't I cook something up? Anything in particular?"

"I wouldn't bat my eyelashes at a warm sandwich," Sharon says as she leans her head against the back of the couch, offering her husband a soft smile.

"I think I can manage that."

"Thank you," Sharon murmurs, squeezing his hand. Andy winks at her before heading into the kitchen to make them dinner. She turns back to her book and begins reading again, continuing until she hears plates hit the dining room table. She pushes herself up off the couch and presses a kiss to Ricky's head as she drops her book in her spot before heading towards the table. Andy had set out two plates and was in the process of bringing out two glasses of milk.

"I hope ham and cheese is okay?"

"Perfect," Sharon smiles as she sits down. Her smile widens as she picks up half of her sandwich and notices the hot peppers sandwiched in the middle, "A man after my own heart."

"I'd hate to be relegated to the floor because I forgot the hot peppers."

"You're funny, you know that," Sharon shoves him before starting to eat.

"I am hilarious," Andy says as he starts to eat his own sandwich, "So, I got the reminder today for that tactical training class. It's supposed to start on Monday. I told them I'd probably be backing out of it…"

"Why?" Sharon asks, "Do we have something next week?"

"Well no, but you're close," Andy says, "I'd be out of communication for most of the day. It's a three day class."

"Andy, that's no reason for you to not take the class," Sharon admonishes as she looks over at him, "Dispatch would know how to get a hold of you. You had to sign up to take this almost a year in advance."

"I can sign up to take the class again later this year," Andy argues back.

"Andy…what's going to change later this year? We'll have two small babies and kids in school, you'll feel bad about leaving then too," Sharon points out as she moves onto the second half of her sandwich, "If you don't want to take the class don't take the class, but don't do it because you think it'll be more convenient to do it later in the year or because you're worried you'll miss something."

"You know, pregnancy has made you a hard ass," Andy points out.

"I've always been a hard ass, it's just made you more of a chauvinist," Sharon grins as she finishes her sandwich before taking a drink of her milk. Her eyes flick over to the kids before looking at her husband, her voice dropping a couple decibels, "Do we still have any of those Oreos left?"

"They're in the top cupboard in the back," Andy gestures.

"Will you grab me a couple?" Sharon asks in a soft tone, fluttering her eyelashes at him. Andy laughs and shakes his head before getting up out of his chair. He walks into the kitchen and opens the cupboard above the fridge, reaching into the back before pulling out a baggie. He retrieves a thick stack of cookies from the bag before putting it back in its spot. He brings the cookies out to the table and gives Sharon half before putting the other half of the stack on his plate, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"So, the course starts on Monday?"

"Yeah, I have to be out at the facility by 7 and we go until 7," Andy says as he twists the cookie apart, popping one half in his mouth, "So I'll have to leave at about 5, and I'll be back around 9."

"Long days," Sharon comments as she dunks her own cookie into the milk and holds it under the surface for a few moments, "Is there anything that you need to take with you?"

"Just myself, food, and a water bottle. They're bringing all of the equipment out."

"Okay," Sharon nods.

"How was your appointment earlier?" Andy asks.

"Good. Everything is on schedule," Sharon smiles, "She said they're maybe about four pounds each right now."

"What about their position?" He continues with his questioning. Sharon had been pushing for a natural birth with her doctor, so during the last few appointments they had been monitoring the position of the babies, hoping that at least one of them would cooperate.

"Mmm," Sharon hums as she swallows the cookie in her mouth. She sits back in her chair and gestures to the right side of her stomach, "This one over here is head down and luckily, the first one to come out if they stay that way. Stubborn on the left is breech, but she said they could fix that after they get the first one out. No dilating yet so far, so that's good."

"Good," Andy smiles, "You sure you don't want to go for the c-section?"

"Very," Sharon nods, "If I need to I will, you know that."

"I do," Andy acknowledges, "Blood pressure?"

"Was normal," Sharon tells him, "115 over 75."

"Not bad," Andy teases as he stands to clear their plates. Sharon rolls her eyes and finishes her milk, handing him her cup as he comes back to get her place setting.

"Thank you for cooking."

"No problem," Andy winks, carrying her things into the kitchen and putting them in the dishwasher. He cleans up the rest of his mess from dinner before turning the lights out in the kitchen and stepping back out into the living room, "I am going to go put some comfy clothes on. What's on tap for tonight?"

"These two are going to bed soon, but Emily wanted to watch the Addams Family with you," Sharon says, "I think you can get it in before bed time."

"Sure, we can do that," Andy smiles at his daughter, "Let me just go change real quick."

"Momma I don't want to watch the Addams Family," Ricky says as he pouts at his mother.

"You and I are going to go work on reading," Sharon tells him, "You got to watch tv earlier while I helped Emily with her homework."

"Can we cuddle in the big bed?"

"Sure we can cuddle in the big bed," Sharon smiles, "Why don't you go put your pajamas on and pick out your books? Hmm? I'll meet you in the bedroom."

"Okay," Ricky agrees as he jumps down from the couch and runs off to his room. Sharon collects her book from the couch and carries it down the hall to the bedroom, dropping it onto her bedside table as she watches Andy change.

"Ricky and I are going to read while you watch the movie."

"He not into it?"

"Not one of his favorites, surprisingly," Sharon says as she sits on the edge of the bed, "Besides, he watched tv while I helped Emily with her homework earlier, he can read with me while you two watch a movie together."

"Okay, don't stay up too late," Andy teases as he tugs his shirt over his head.

"Oh hush," Sharon says as she throws a small pillow at him. Andy laughs and catches it, depositing it back on the bed before pressing a kiss to her lips. She hums and indulges for a moment before pulling back, "I love you."

"I love you too," Andy murmurs, pressing a kiss to her head before heading down the hall. He ruffles Ricky's hair and bids him a good night as they pass in the hall. The little boy pushes into his mother's room, his arms laden with short, thin books.

"I brought stories."

"You did bring stories," Sharon smiles and takes the books from him. She puts them on the bed and pulls her legs up, sitting against the pillows before patting the spot next to her. Ricky pulls himself up onto the mattress and settles into his mother's side. He grabs the book off the top, spreading it open on his lap.

The weekend passes without incident, Andy deciding to continue on with his course. He leaves early in the morning on Monday, taking his time to stop in each of the bedrooms, dropping quiet kisses on each of their occupant's heads. By the time he gets home in the evening the kids are both asleep and Sharon is dozing in the bedroom. Her book is haphazardly draped over her stomach and the bedside light was still on. Andy takes a moment to mark her page, putting the book on her bedside table as he turns off the light and pulls the sheets up a bit.

"Mmm," Sharon stirs, "Time is it?"

"Late," Andy murmurs, "Go back to sleep."

"Food in oven for you," She mumbles before rolling onto her side to get comfortable again. Andy waits for her to settle before heading down to the kitchen and finding a plate of leftovers in the oven. He warms up the plate in the microwave before settling in on the couch and turning the tv on. He puts the volume on low and watches the news as he eats. He puts his plate in the dishwasher and trots down the stairs to the basement to take a shower, dressing in a clean pair of boxers and a t-shirt before stretching out on the couch and sinking into an exhausted sleep.

Tuesday and Wednesday morning passes in much a similar fashion, Andy rising and getting home long before anyone was awake or asleep. Wednesday afternoon, he drops down onto a picnic table bench, opening up the small cooler he had brought with for the day. He pulls out the sandwich he'd cobbled together earlier that morning, grumbling when he sees that water had gotten into the baggie and soaked half of it. He tosses the water laden half into the trash bin that was at the end of the table, looking up as one of the Commanders calls out for him.

"Dispatch called in for you," Commander Lee says as he walks over to the table, "EMS was dispatched to your house earlier this morning. Took your wife to Cedars."

"When?" Andy says, jumping up from the table and snapping the message out of the man's hands.

"Little after seven."

"Seven?! It's noon!" Andy exclaims.

"We just got the message a few minutes ago," Lee lets him know, "Go ahead and grab your stuff and head out. We can bring you in for the last part on the next session."

"Thanks," Andy says, grabbing his cooler and water bottle before taking off for the car at a sprint.

Andy's shoes practically screech to a stop as he finally finds the hospital room he was looking for. He steps inside and finds Sharon laying in bed with Ricky at her side and Emily curled up in a chair next to the bed. The kids were watching TV and drinking juice boxes and Sharon was hooked up to a few monitors, her hand draped across the top of her stomach.

"Hey, I just heard about EMS. What happened?" Andy asks as he steps over to the bed. He was still covered in sweat and dirt from the class, not taking the time to stop off on his race to Cedars.

"I passed out earlier while I was making the kids breakfast," Sharon brushes off with a wave of her hand, "They said my blood pressure bottomed out. Emily called 911, they decided to bring me in."

"Well at least some of our paranoid parenting has stuck," Andy remarks as he ruffles Emily's hair with a small smile. Ricky was still young enough that he freaked out about things like that instead of holding steady and calling for help. It's what Emily got from Sharon and what Ricky got from him, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods with a smile, "I'm in for the duration though, I've dilated a few centimeters since I was in last week. They're giving me some steroids for their lungs."

"Jesus," Andy says as he sinks down onto the edge of the bed next to Ricky, "What do we do?"

"Gavin's going to pick the kids up after he gets off of work and stay at the house with them," Sharon explains, "And we basically just wait. It'll be sooner rather than later."

"I don't want to go with Uncle Gavin," Ricky voices, wrinkling his nose.

"Yeah, we want to stay and meet the babies," Emily agrees, tearing her eyes away from the TV.

"It's going to be a while before they get here," Sharon tells them, "Gavin will bring you back when they're really on their way."

"Promise?" Emily asks with a skeptical arched eyebrow. She was getting too sassy already in her pre-teen years.

"I promise," Sharon agrees. The four of them look up as Gavin knocks on the door before stepping into the room. He was still dressed in his suit from the office, but had a warm smile on his face as he greeted the family.

"Hello, hello Flynns."

"You didn't have to rush," Sharon says, turning her head and kissing Gavin's cheek as he leans down to hug her.

"I didn't have anything this afternoon besides going over paperwork," Gavin says as he tucks his hands in his pockets, "Which I am very capable of doing at your house."

"Thank you," Sharon says. She jostles Ricky to get him out of bed as Emily unfolds herself from the chair she'd been sitting in, "Honey, why don't you follow Gavin back to the house?"

"I…are you sure?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods and offers him a reassuring smile, "I didn't get to grab anything before they brought me over and you could use a shower and some clean clothes. You look like you've been rolling around in the dirt most of the day."

"I have been rolling around in the dirt most of the day," Andy grins. He leans down and presses a kiss to Sharon's lips before getting up off of the bed, "Alright, let's get you two home and we can show Gavin where everything is. If you're lucky he'll order take out for dinner. I have a feeling your mother's pinned more than a few dollars to his jacket for babysitting."

* * *

[TBC]


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes:** Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter. This is definitely the longest chapter of the series, about twice the length that I normally post, but there was no decent place to cut this. **Kadi219** gets a shoutout for talking some of this stuff through with me. My binge of Call the Midwife probably is responsible for the length. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Andy grunts as he feels an ice cube hit him in the face, his head twitching to the side as his brow furrows. He yawns as he opens his eyes while shoving up onto his elbow. He finds Sharon sitting up in her bed with a cup resting on top of her stomach and her hand poised to throw another ice cube at him. The room in the light was low, only the small lamp on her bedside table lighting the room. There were a couple missed shots lying on the floor and melting.

"Can I help you?" He asks with a sleep laden voice.

"My water broke," Sharon says as she drops the ice cube in her hand back into the cup before taking a sip of the water. Andy swings his legs down off of the couch and stuffs his feet back into his shoes before standing and walking over to the bed.

"Did you buzz the nurse?" He asks as he sits on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his. He glances at his watch to check the time surprised to find that he'd only fallen asleep a couple hours before and it was barely after midnight. They were going on day five in the hospital. Sharon had been given the doses of steroids the twins needed and when she started having regular contractions the day before they felt no need to stop anything. He'd stayed up late with her until she'd managed to convince him to get some sleep and she was going to try and doze a bit herself.

"Not yet," She shakes her head and curls her fingers around his, "I just wanted a couple minutes with you."

"Everything okay?" He inquires as he tilts his head to the side, worried that something was wrong.

"Yeah. Just…" Sharon rolls her eyes and laughs softly, "It's just nerves."

"You've done this before, you are going to do great," Andy says softly in a reassuring tone, a smile replacing his furrowed frown as his thumb strokes over her knuckles taking care not to disturb her IV.

"It's been nine and a half years," Sharon replies.

"Your body will know what to do," Andy's smile eases into a grin, "Just like riding a bike."

"Hardly. None of the mechanics are the same," Sharon laughs and rolls her eyes. Andy leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead, nose, and then her lips.

"I love you. And you're going to do great."

"I love you too," Sharon smiles at him before reaching out and pressing the call button. Both of them wince when the nurses come in, turning on the overhead lights. Andy gets up from the bed to give them room to examine her and change the bedding.

"We'll call your doctor, let her know what's going on," One of the nurses comments as she changes Sharon's IV bag, "The shift doctor will be in in a moment to see how far along you are."

"Sure," Sharon nods, smiling at Andy as he takes her hand again after the nurses leave.

"Do you want me to call home?"

"No," Sharon shakes her head as she takes a deep breath, shifting uncomfortably as she feels a contraction roll through her midsection. She lets it out slowly before continuing her response, "We can call later once they're up. Gavin can bring them by on the way to school for a quick visit."

"You know your daughter will kick up a storm at being sent to school once she finds out they're actually going to be here."

"Well, I'm hardly going to be in the mood for any attitude," Sharon rolls her eyes. Andy smiles and drops a kiss to her temple before grabbing her water cup for her as she reaches out to it. She thanks him as she takes a sip of the cool water, her forehead already covered in a light sheen of sweat. The doctor steps in a moment later as Andy puts the cup back onto her tray.

"How are you feeling, Sharon?" The doctor asks as he picks up her chart and begins to look it over. While they waited for Sharon's doctor to arrive at the hospital the on-call obstetrician was continuing to look in on them. Doctor Gilbert had been overnight doctor the past two evenings and was a younger man that was quite attentive and knowledgable, and not hard to look at if Sharon's blushes were anything to go by.

"I've been better," Sharon replies with a quick smile that comes out more as a grimace.

"Nurse says contractions are about four minutes apart?"

"Mmhm."

"Alright, let's see what the situation is," The doctor says as he hangs the chart up before pulling down a pair of gloves to put on. He examines Sharon as Andy continues to hold onto her hand. He winces as her fingers curl tightly and her nails dig into his skin, "I'd say you're about five centimeters, which is good."

"Good is relative," Sharon says with a slight groan.

"I suppose it is," Doctor Gilbert smiles as he snaps off his gloves before pulling the ultrasound machine closer. He adjusts the bands strapped across her stomach and squirts a generous amount of gel on before starting the machine, "From the looks of things...baby A is still head down. He's dropped a bit...the only thing I'm worried about is B going transverse instead of continuing to move down."

"Transverse?" Andy asks.

"When the fetus is sitting side ways," The doctor gestures across Sharon's stomach, "Instead of up and down. Sometimes they can be turned but other times it ends up requiring a c-section."

"I've talked to my doctor about it," Sharon tells him with a small smile as he puts the wand of the ultrasound away before adjusting the heart rate monitors, "B's been sitting that way for a while, breech at least."

"Doctor Dillen is very good with breech births," Doctor Gilbert comments as he washes his hands, "I scrubbed in on a couple with her during my residency over at USC. You'll be in good hands."

"How old are you exactly?" Andy asks, his brow furrowing as he looks at the doctor.

"32," The doctor answers with a smile as he puts his hands into his pocket, "Fully licensed and vetted. Doctor Dillen should be here soon, but the nurses and I will stop by for checkups while we wait."

"Thank you, Doctor," Sharon says, thwacking her hand against Andy's abs after the doctor leaves.

"Ow!"

"Stop being rude," She tells him.

"I'm not being rude," Andy says, "He's practically a teenager."

"He's seven years younger than you and spent a lot more time in school," Sharon reminds him before a gasp escapes her lips. Her arm flails out reaching for his hand, latching onto it once he catches her palm in his grip. After the contraction passes she relaxes her grip before letting go completely. She runs her fingers through her hair and sighs as she shifts her hips with a wince.

"Why don't we walk around a bit?" Andy suggests. She'd been on bedrest for the most part since she had been admitted, only permitted short walks to the bathroom, "I figure you could use a chance to stretch your legs."

"That actually sounds nice," Sharon says as she swings her legs over the side of the bed. Andy helps her up before rolling her IV stand over and helping her with the provided robe, "Back all covered?"

"Back all covered," Andy smiles before wrapping his arm around hers and walking out into the hall with her. They slowly make laps around the quiet floor for a little while, stopping when they get back to the room and find Doctor Dillen waiting for them.

"Looks like you're in quite capable hands," The doctor smiles and holds the door open for them as they walk into the room.

"So far so good," Sharon smiles tiredly, glancing at the clock as she makes her way to the bed. It was close to 130 and she was already exhausted.

"Capable teenager hands," Andy mumbles under his breath.

"Oh yes, I see that Doctor Gilbert is on duty tonight," The doctor comments as she reads Sharon's chart, "He's a good doctor. I've been trying to get him into private practice for the last year. He won't budge though."

"He's been on the past couple nights," Sharon says as Andy rolls his eyes, "He's nice."

"He is," Doctor Dillen agrees before putting the chart back and giving Sharon a full examination, "Well it looks like…"

"Shit Sharon," Andy says as she cries out. She clutches down on his hand and her other hand flings out, gripping his forearm with her nails digging in. Her grip loosens after a moment before dropping her head back against the pillows. He shakes out his arm with a grimace on his face.

"As I was saying, it looks like you're progressing well, six centimeters. I'm guessing the contractions are getting worse?"

"Yeah," Sharon nods, her eyes slipping closed as she breathes deep and rubs her hand along the side of her stomach in a slow, soothing gesture, "That was a bad one."

"Well, like I'm sure Doctor Gilbert told you, we'll be in and out as you continue to progress. Press the call button if you need anything."

"Thanks, doc," Andy says, offering the doctor a smile before she leaves the room.

Over the next few hours he walks the halls with Sharon, stopping when she needs to and keeping her cup filled with ice and water. He bites his tongue as she claws and grips at him. Her pain was worse than anything she was inflicting on him. Eventually they end up sequestered to the room, her legs no longer able to walk her through the hall and bring any relief. Andy sways his wife back and forth, humming quietly as she leans her weight into him. His hands move over her back and massage gently, trying to take some of her discomfort away.

"What are you humming?" Sharon murmurs quietly with her face tucked against his neck.

"Dean Martin," Andy replies before starting to sing quietly, "Watch the sunrise on a tropic isle, see the pyramids along the Nile…"

"I love you," Sharon sighs as she listens to him carry on with the tune in a quiet tone.

Andy takes a break around 5 during one of Sharon's examinations to call Gavin and ask if he would bring the kids by before school. He turns his head as he hears the doctor's gloves snap off, listening to her relay the update to Sharon.

"Actually Gavin, why don't you just plan on bringing them here for the day? It sounds like it's going to be soon. I'm going to call the school after I get off the phone with you."

"Sure, I'll see you soon. Give Shar my best," Gavin says before hanging up. Andy calls the school, telling them that Emily and Ricky weren't going to be in that day. After he drops the phone back into the cradle he grabs the damp washcloth off of Sharon's bed tray and dabs it gently over her forehead.

"Gavin sends his regards. He'll bring the kids over soon," He tells her in a quiet voice as she squirms in pain and her hand grabs at his leg.

"I hate you!" She tells him with a pain filled voice.

"I know," Andy murmurs. Gavin was there with the kids by 630, knocking quietly on the door before stepping in.

"Hey you two," He says in a whisper as the kids make their way quickly over to the bed to say hello to their mother. Sharon offers him a pained smile from the bed before putting on a stronger face and greeting the kids

"Hey," Andy replies as he steps away from the bed to greet Gavin, "I hope they haven't been too much trouble?"

"Not at all. They've been great. And they perked right up this morning when I told them we were coming over and the babies were going to be here soon."

"We really appreciate it. We managed to talk our parents down about rushing out," Andy rolls his eyes, already hearing his mothers voice ringing in his ears again, "They put up a fight, but Shar doesn't want to be inundated with house guests while trying to settle in with two."

"Understandable. When do your ex and the kids get back?"

"Couple days," Andy says. Vicky and the kids had been swept out of town right before Sharon had ended up in the hospital when Vicky's grandmother unexpectedly passed away, "I've been keeping them updated. They'll come over once they get home."

"That will be nice," Gavin smiles.

"It'll be a houseful," Andy admits before looking back at the kids and Sharon with a soft smile, "Worth it though."

"I am going to go set up out in the waiting room. Feel free to send the kids out when they're ready."

"I will," Andy nods, "Thanks for bringing them."

"No problem," Gavin assures him before stepping out of the hospital room and making his way to the waiting area. Andy steps back over to the bed and smiles as he finds the kids telling Sharon about what had gone on the evening before after they had visited. Emily looks up as she feels Andy's hand on her head and smiles at him.

"Morning Daddy."

"Morning monkey," Andy replies, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead before he does the same to Ricky.

"Daddy, can we come watch the babies come out?" Emily asks

"That's going to be a negative," Andy replies as he sits on the edge of Sharon's bed. He rests his hand on her thigh and runs his hand up and down slowly, "Kids aren't allowed and it's going to be gross."

"But Daddy…"

"Emily," Andy says in a firm tone, "Not right now."

"Okay," Emily grumbles. Sharon smiles and reaches out to tuck her daughter's long hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek gently.

"Don't worry, you two will be the first to see them. Promise," Sharon assures her. Emily smiles at her mother and leans into her hand.

"Knock, knock," The doctor says as she pokes her head in, "Time for a quick exam?"

"Mmhm," Sharon nods as she rolls off of her side before groaning softly in pain. Ricky frowns and looks at his dad.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing bud," Andy says, pulling him closer as the doctor takes a moment to examine Sharon discreetly, "The babies are just getting ready to come out and that can hurt for Mom."

"I don't want them to hurt her," Ricky says as his frown deepens.

"Me either bud, but it's what happens," Andy educates, "She went through the same thing with your sister and in a way with you."

"Oh," Ricky replies softly before shaking his head, "We shouldn't do this again."

"Don't worry Bub," Andy laughs, "I think we're all in agreement on that one."

"Alright Sharon, we're going to get you moved down to the delivery room."

"Already?" Sharon says even though she had been begging for it to be over for a while.

"We're at that point," The doctor says as she snaps her gloves off, "I'll have the nurses come get you."

"Alright guys," Andy tells them as he stands up, "Mom's going to a different room, so why don't you give her a kiss good luck, hmm?"

Both of the kids give Sharon kisses and hugs before Andy trades places with the nurses who quickly begin breaking down the setup to move, "You two are going to go wait with Gavin in the waiting room."

"But I want to meet the babies," Emily says as Andy herds her and Ricky out of the room in front of the nurses pushing Sharon's bed.

"When you come back the babies will be here," Andy assures her, nudging both of them off towards the waiting room. Emily sighs and starts walking down the hall with her brother. She throws a glance over her shoulder, not surprised to find her father's attention already on her laboring mother. She waits for a few more steps before turning around.

"Emmy, where are you going?" Ricky asks when his sister lets go of his hand.

"I'm going to see those babies," Emily says, determination set in her brow, "You can come with."

"Nuh uh," Ricky shakes his head, "Daddy said it was going to be gross. And we're not allowed."

"Dad exaggerates," Emily says. Ricky shrugs and walks in the original direction. He makes his way into the waiting room and climbs into a chair next to Gavin. Andrea had joined him while the kids were in with Sharon and brought breakfast with her.

"Hey buddy," Gavin says as the boy climbs up in the chair next to him, "Where's your sister?"

"With Momma," Ricky says simply, "Do you have any snacks?"

"Andrea brought some bagels with her, are you hungry?"

"Yeah," Ricky nods. Andrea turns and grabs the box she had brought with, holding it out to Ricky after prying the top open. He reaches in and points at a cinnamon raisin bagel, "Does that have raisins in it?"

"It does," Andrea nods after taking a look.

"I don't want that then…" Ricky says before grabbing a blueberry one, "Can you put the stuff on please?"

"Sure," Andrea smiles, getting out a tub of cream cheese to top the bagel for the boy.

Emily makes her way down the hall at an unhurried pace, staying far enough back from her parents that they wouldn't see her but close enough that she didn't lose them in the hall. The floor was still quiet in the early morning. She follows behind as the group moving the bed turns into a bustling room. She lingers outside the door for a few moments before slipping inside when someone steps out. She does a quick survey of the room before finding the perfect hiding spot, slipping in between the two layers of sliding screen. Her brown eyes peek around the edge, watching the room in curiosity.

"I still have a right to maim you until the last one's out," Sharon reminds Andy with a breathless laugh.

"You have a right to maim me for the next eighteen years," Andy says as he presses a kiss to her sweaty forehead. The doctor and nurses begin to take over, getting Sharon prepped to deliver the twins. He keeps her hand in his as she gets ready to push, encouraging her to continue squeezing whenever she needed.

Only a few minutes after starting to push, Andy rubs his hand up and down Sharon's back as she clutches onto his hand. She lets out a long cry, her teeth grinding together as she bears down.

"Keep going, Sharon…" The doctor coaches.

"You're doing great," Andy murmurs quietly into her ear as he presses a kiss to her head.

"Alright, stop pushing, just breathe…breathe…" Sharon's grip on Andy's hand relaxes slightly and she whimpers as she drops her head against his shoulder, her eyes closing for a moment.

"It hurts so bad," She admits.

"I know," Andy rubs her back, "I know."

"I don't think you do," Sharon bites before the doctor asks for a big push. Andy's knees almost buckle as she grips his hand again, yelling as she pushes. He straightens to his full height and peers over the sheet bunched at his wife's waist watching as the doctor gently pulls their baby into waiting hands.

"It's a girl!" The doctor declares as she hands the crying baby up to lay on the pile of receiving blankets on Sharon's chest. The nurse standing next to Sharon's bed reaches out and grabs the first blanket starting to help clean her off.

"Yes!" Emily exclaims and jumps up from her hiding spot as her arms shoot into the air. Andy's head whips around in the direction of the exclamation, his eyes narrowing as he notices his daughter.

"Emily Eileen!"

"Oops," Emily mumbles as her arms drop down to her side. Andy sighs and lets go of Sharon's hand for a moment before walking over to the girl and grabbing her by the shoulder. He ushers her out of the room and stands her next to the door.

"Stand here, do not move," Andy tells her with a low voice, "Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Emily nods. Andy quickly moves back into the room and back to Sharon's side. The baby had been wrapped up a bit more and was resting in her mother's arms still wailing away. Sharon looks up at him and gives him a brilliant smile, her eyes already drooping in exhaustion.

"She's perfect."

"Course she is," Andy agrees.

"Dad, do you want to cut the cord?" The doctor offers, holding a pair of scissors out to Andy. He nods and reaches forward, snipping the cord where the doctor had indicated. He hands the scissors back as his attention diverts to look at the baby. She had fair skin underneath the bright pink tone that was taking it over and the hair on her head was a soft strawberry blonde. He reaches out and brushes his knuckle over her tiny fingers as her arms flail while she carries on wailing, "Looks like her mom, sounds like her dad."

Sharon laughs softly and swallows as one of the nurses takes her away. She groans as she sinks further back against the pillows of the bed, watching as the doctor feels her stomach to check the position of the other baby.

"Good?"

"Not yet," The doctor says as she pulls the ultrasound over, "Without their sister in there they are going a bit sideways instead of moving down. I just want to take a look."

"Is that going to be a problem?" Andy asks as the doctor starts the ultrasound, quickly checking the position of the other baby visually.

"We'll try to turn them," The doctor says as she pushes the machine away, "But if we can't get them vertical, we'll have to do a c-section. You doing okay, Sharon?"

"Mmhm," Sharon nods. Doctor Dillen gets up from her stool and feels her way across Sharon's stomach again before starting to press on the baby, trying to get them to move position. Sharon curls her fingers around Andy's arm, holding on with a light grip as she looks up at the ceiling in discomfort.

"Stubborn one," The doctor comments as she leans a little more weight into her efforts before giving up as Sharon cries out in pain, a contraction tightening the muscles of her abdomen. The doctor lets go and drops back down to her stool. She notices Sharon bleeding a bit more heavily and feels her stomach again, looking up at Andy, "I don't think we're going to have time to call for the anesthetist and do a c-section. Sharon, this is going to hurt, but we need to get them out. I'm going to have to go in and physically grab the baby."

"Okay," Sharon nods, bracing herself for the pain.

"Do not push until I tell you to okay?" The doctor tells her as Andy blanches while watching her hand disappear.

In the hallway, Emily's eyes widen as she hears Sharon scream in pain. The sound echoes through the otherwise quiet hallway until it's interrupted by the cry of a baby. She leans her ear closer to the door, listening for the doctor.

"It's a boy!" The doctor exclaims, laying the boy out much the same way she had his sister. Sharon lets out a sob in relief, tears trickling down her cheeks as she looks at the boy on her chest. He shared the same features as his sister, strawberry blonde hair and pale skin, hands waving in the air. She pulls him closer after Andy cuts the cord and cuddles him close for a few more moments. She shushes him quietly as Andy presses a kiss to her forehead and tucks her hair behind her ear.

"You did such a good job," He whispers in her ear. Sharon smiles tiredly at him before letting the baby go to one of the nurses. The doctor finishes up the rest of the delivery before Sharon's tucked into her bed with a pile of blankets to keep her warm as she shivers.

"Can Emily come in?" Sharon asks as they wait for the nurses to finish up with the babies, "I know it's not really in line with the rules…"

"Which is saying something for her," Andy jokes.

"I don't see why not," Doctor Dillen agrees with a smile, "We've only got a couple more minutes here before we wheel you back. And I'm sure she saw far worse earlier."

"I'll grab her," Andy says, kissing Sharon's head once more before going out into the hall. Emily was sitting on the floor, playing with the hem of her shirt. She hops up and looks up at her father with an apprehensive look, "Don't think you're not in trouble cause you are."

"I'm sorry," Emily apologizes. Andy sighs and wraps his arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, your mom wants to see you," He tells her before bringing her into the room. The now much quieter twins were being brought over to the bed, Sharon cradling both of them in her arms.

"Hi honey," Sharon smiles as her daughter quickly steps over to the bed. Andy puts his hands on Emily's shoulders as the nurse relays their birth information to them. Baby Girl Flynn was born at 7:12 am at a rousing five and a half pounds, her brother coming only three minutes later weighing in five ounces lighter than her. Both of them were twenty-one inches long and doing extremely well considering their early arrival. Emily stands on her toes, leaning over the side bar of the bed to get a better look at her sister who was decked out in a yellow hat, opposite her brother's white one.

"She's perfect," Emily says, unknowingly repeating her mother's earlier sentiment. She looks across at her brother, surprised to find his eyes open and seemingly staring right at her, their blue irises light and bright, "They're cute. I think we can keep them."

"Well, I'm glad we have your approval," Andy grins.

"Do they have names?" The nurse asks as she fills out the name cards for their cradles.

"Elizabeth Mae and Andrew Ian."

* * *

[TBC]


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes:** Glad that people enjoyed the coming of the twins! I think this installment has one or two more chapters before we move on a bit further down the line.

* * *

After a couple extra days in the hospital Sharon and the twins were able to head home. Ricky and Emily had been dropped off at school in the morning with the promise of everyone being home when they were done for the day. Andy had gone home to pick up the house and make sure they had enough groceries, ending up back at the hospital just before lunch time.

Both of the twins were sprawled out on the mattress as Sharon got their clothes out to dress them. Her hair was damp around her shoulders and she was dressed in a loose, v-neck, wrap dress, a cardigan draped over the foot of the bed.

"Three of my favorite people," Andy says as he steps into the room. He sets the carseats down on the couch before walking to the bed and pressing a kiss to his wife's lips, "How are you?"

"Oh fine," Sharon replies, offering Andy a tired smile. Andy takes the jumper out of her hands and nudges her towards the chair.

"You sit. I'll get them dressed," He tells her before undoing the snaps on the outfit and bunching it up to pull over Libby's head. Sharon offers him an appreciative look as she sits down on the edge of the chair next to the bed, watching him with a careful eye. He carefully works her arms into the sleeves and fastens the snaps back together around her tiny legs and diaper before repeating the process with Drew.

"Socks and mittens are in the bag," Sharon tells him.

"Socks and mittens? You two are going to be the warmest people in LA!" Andy says as he digs the items out.

"Your daughter's already scratched herself once this morning," Sharon comments as he puts the socks on their feet and the mittens on their hands before topping the both of them off with a hat.

"There, perfect," Andy smiles. He picks Libby up first and turns around to tuck her into her car seat, buckling her in securely before doing the same with Drew, "Doc coming by soon?"

"Yeah, should be in a few minutes," Sharon nods. She pushes herself up from the chair and grabs her sweater before doing a quick walk around the room, making sure they weren't forgetting anything. She zips up her bag and rolls her eyes at Andy as he takes it from her, putting it next to the carseats.

"You might as well let me do the heavy lifting while I'm around," He tells her.

"My duffel bag is hardly heavy lifting," Sharon smiles and presses a soft kiss to his lips. She steps back as the doctor knocks on the door before stepping in, "Doctor Gilbert."

"Morning rounds this week," The doctor smiles, "Notes from the overnight doctor says that the babies are feeding well. She stopped by earlier this morning to give you an exam?"

"Yes," Sharon nods.

"And you have an appointment booked with the pediatrician?"

"We do, in a couple days," Andy replies, "And in a few weeks."

"Good," Doctor Gilbert smiles marking a few things down on the clipboard he had. He pulls a folder off from under the papers and hands it to Sharon, "From what I can tell it looks like everything is in order. Nurse Lee is going to go downstairs with you and check the carseats, but otherwise you are free to go. The folder has some information pamphlets, coupons, and phone numbers in case you have any questions."

"Thank you, Doctor," Andy says, reaching out to shake the doctor's hand.

"Just doing my job," Doctor Gilbert says as he shakes Andy's hand back. He offers Sharon a smile before heading out of the room, trading places with a nurse in teddy bear scrubs who was pushing a wheel chair.

"Mr and Mrs Flynn?"

"That's us," Sharon smiles before sinking down into the wheel chair. Andy puts her bag on her lap before picking up both of the car seats to carry, letting the nurse navigate them down to the car. He opens the back door once they get there, setting Drew's carseat on the pavement for a moment. The nurse checks that the bases are installed properly before Andy clips the seats in.

"Front or back?" Andy asks Sharon as he takes her bag from her and offers her a hand up.

"Back please," Sharon says as she pulls herself up from the chair. Andy puts her bag on the floor below the twins' carseats before helping her into the car and thanking the nurse. The nurse bids them a good afternoon before heading back towards the hospital as Sharon pulls her door shut. Andy jogs around to the other side, climbing into the driver's seat before turning the car on and turning the heat up a little bit.

"Good?" Andy asks as he turns to look back at them. Sharon nods and smiles as Drew's hand curls around her pinky through his mitten and he lets out a long whine before yawning. She presses her lips to his tiny hand as the car backs out of the parking space before heading towards home. By the time they get to their neighborhood both Libby and Drew were starting to get fussy.

"They're both going to need to eat when we get home," Sharon mentions as she looks at her watch, "And I am starving."

"I will make lunch while you feed them," Andy says as he turns down their street. A few moments later he pulls down the driveway and into the garage. He turns the car off and gets the carseats out, "I'll grab your bag once you get settled."

"Thank you," Sharon says with a grateful look before slipping out of the car. The two make their way upstairs, their presence starting to get Lily riled up in her kennel. Andy puts the carseats on the coffee table and walks to the corner of the room to let Lily out. She barrels her way out and runs over to Sharon, jumping up on her as she sits down on the couch, "Hi pretty girl! Hi. I missed you."

"Let me put her outside," Andy says as he unlocks the sliding door.

"She's fine," Sharon assures him as she ruffles Lily's ears, "They have to get used to her and she needs to get used to them. But someone just missed their mommy for a few days, didn't you?"

"What can I get you for feeding them?"

"A couple pillows and some water?" Sharon asks as she continues to pet Lily. Andy nods at her request and heads down the hallway to grab pillows from the bedroom. Once the dog gets enough attention she finally notices the carseats sitting on the coffee table and the tiny humans fussing within. She sniffs at their feet, sniffing around the seats for a moment before trotting away to the kitchen. Sharon stands as Andy comes back and sets down two large pillows on the couch, "I am going to wash my hands real quick and then I might need a quick hand getting them started."

"Sure," Andy nods, leaning down to get the babies unbuckled as Sharon moves into the kitchen. He slips his hands under Libby and expertly lifts her into his arms before carefully leaning down with her and picking Drew up, "There we go, see two isn't that bad."

"I think we'll manage," Sharon says as she comes back. She dries her hands off on a kitchen towel draping it over one of the couch cushions before stepping up next to Andy. She rests her cheek against his arm as she looks at the twins, "At least until they become mobile."

"Funny," Andy smiles and kisses her forehead, "Sit."

"Yes sir," Sharon smiles before sitting down on the couch. She loosens the tie on her dress slightly and gets situated before holding her hands up for one of the babies. Drew gets passed down first and settled before she takes Libby and settles her in.

"Okay?" Andy asks after a couple moments.

"I think we're good," Sharon says, tearing her gaze away from the twins as she looks up and smiles at him.

"Alright, you mentioned something about lunch. Anything in particular?"

"Food," Sharon requests with a bemused smile, "Whatever you want to make honey."

"Okay," Andy sighs, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips, "Yell if you need anything."

"Will do," Sharon assures him. Andy pecks her lips once more before heading into the kitchen. He starts pulling things out of the fridge to make lunch, leaning across the counter to pick up the phone as it rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey you," Vicky's voice trickles down the line, "I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time."

"Not at all," Andy says as he wedges the phone to his shoulder, pulling the cord with him as he continues his venture for lunch, "We just got home a little bit ago. Twins are being fed right now and I am making lunch."

"How are they doing?"

"Everyone is good and healthy. And still in possession of their sanity," Andy laughs, "Give it a few days though."

"Which is why I thought I'd call now. I was going to see if you minded if I brought the kids by tonight to see the twins. And I will sweeten that deal by offering to pick Emily and Ricky up on my way so you don't have to go out."

"Let me check with Sharon real quick, but I don't think it should be an issue," Andy says as he sets the knife in his hand down. He drops the phone onto the counter and makes his way back into the living room.

"Who's on the phone?" Sharon asks as she turns her head to look at him.

"Vicky, she was offering to bring Nicole and Charlie over tonight and pick up Emily and Ricky on her way," Andy recounts, "I thought I'd see if you were up to visitors."

"They're hardly visitors," Sharon says, "They're family."

"I still thought it'd be better to see if you were up to it than just assuming," Andy replies as he leans over the back of the couch. He reaches out and strokes his finger gently over Libby's ear, hissing as Sharon smacks his hand away.

"Don't distract them," She reprimands before pressing her lips to his hand, "It's fine with me if they come over, and it's nice of her to offer to pick up Em and Rick."

"Okay," Andy presses a kiss to her head before heading back to the kitchen. He picks up the phone and the knife again, continuing on with lunch, "That should be fine. Are you sure about picking up Emily and Ricky?"

"I am. Emily gets done with ballet at 5:30, right?"

"Yeah," Andy nods, "And Ricky's just at the after school program."

"Sounds good, I think we'll probably be there by six or a little after. Is there anything that I can bring?"

"I don't think so, I went to the store earlier and I'm just pulling a lasagna out of the freezer for dinner," Andy replies, "Thanks Vick."

"I'll see you later then." Andy leans over to hang the phone up before returning to making lunch for himself and Sharon. As he puts two sandwiches on their plates with cut up fruits and vegetables, a knock sounds on the door. He looks up and tosses the spatula into the sink before heading to check the peephole, only seeing a fluff of flowers on the other end. He undoes the lock and pulls the door open, "Hi."

"Hello! Delivery for the Flynn family?"

"That's us," Andy says, taking the vase from the delivery person before using his free hand to scribble his name on the delivery form. He steps back into the house and locks the door before carrying the flowers into the dining room, setting them on the table. There were already various bouquets stashed around the house from their time in the hospital, the dining room was the last available place to put any. He plucks the card out of the middle reading it as he goes to grab their lunch, carrying it into the living room.

"Who was at the door?" Sharon asks as he sets the plates down on the coffee table.

"Flower delivery," Andy says, sinking down on the couch next to her, "I put them on the table."

"Who are they from?"

"The guys at work," Andy says, "Well…they say they're from the guys at work but the handwriting is very distinctly the Commander's wife."

"That's nice of her," Sharon smiles as she turns her head to look at the flowers. The bouquet was built of roses, carnations and gerberas with pink and blue ribbons tied around the face.

"Are they almost done?" Andy asks as he looks down at the twins.

"She is done and he should be done here soon. If you want to burp her…" Sharon tells him. Andy reaches over and lifts Libby away, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before resting her at his shoulder to burp her. He laughs as she lets out a loud burp after only a couple of pats, continuing for a few more moments before dropping her down to rest in the crook of his arm.

"What do you think Miss Libby?" Andy asks as he takes her hat off causing her fine hair to stand up on end. He smoothes his palm over the top of her head and smiles as she lets out a small sound, curling up in his hold, "She's so tiny…"

"Smaller than Ricky was," Sharon agrees as she fixes her dress and cradles Drew in her hold, pressing a kiss to his forehead, "What's for lunch? Since it seems like we're eating on the couch."

"Ah, chicken salad sandwich. And I figured the couch would be more comfortable for you," Andy says before leaning forward to grab her plate and hand it to her. He grabs his own and balances it on his legs.

"You're probably right. Barely managed to escape that damn donut pillow," Sharon sighs and lifts the bread on half of the sandwich, "Ooh, you made the kind with the nuts and grapes?"

"Of course," Andy smiles. Sharon leans over and presses a soft kiss to his cheek before starting to eat.

After lunch they settle the twins into their bassinets in the master bedroom for a nap, Andy tucking Sharon into bed with a kiss. She manages to get a bit of a doze in before Libby starts to fuss. She and Andy spend the rest of the afternoon rotating the twins between each other, keeping hem fed and changed as Sharon naps when she can.

It's a little after six when they hear a knock on the door. Andy slips out of the bed and tells Sharon to take her time finishing with the twins before heading down the hall towards the front door. He checks the peephole before undoing the lock and opening the door to the gaggle on the other side.

"Daddy!" Nicole squeals, lifting her arms up.

"Hi my darling," Andy replies, scooping the girl up before stepping back to let everyone else in. Vicky closes the door behind herself once she steps in and smiles as Nicole clings to her father.

"They missed you while we were gone."

"I missed them," Andy smiles and presses a kiss to Nicole's cheek before letting her down. He wraps his arm around Charlie and hugs him close for a moment, "Why don't you guys wash up for dinner? The twins are just finishing up eating themselves and then your mom should be out."

"Okay!" The four of them run down the hall towards Emily and Ricky's rooms.

"Dinner should be done soon," Andy says as he walks Vicky into the kitchen. He checks the timer and grabs the sheet pan of garlic bread he had prepared, stuffing it into the oven with the lasagna, "Can I get you something to drink? We have water, milk, juice…some iced tea…"

"I can grab it," Vicky waves him off as she steps up to the cupboard to take a glass down before getting the iced tea out of the fridge, "Take a load off. I didn't come over to be waited on. How was the rest of the afternoon?"

"Quiet," Andy says as he starts to get plates and silverware out, "Mostly just eating and napping."

"Are they on a schedule?" Vicky asks as she pulls down other glasses.

"It's come and go, Libby seems to eat less more often than Drew does," Andy explains as he carries the dishes out to the table to set it, "You didn't have too much trouble picking up Em and Rick did you?"

"No, not at all," Vicky shakes her head as she helps him, "Besides I think they got all of their acting up out on the way over."

"I don't know if the four of them will ever get their acting up out," Andy laughs as the timer goes off. He sets the last plate out before heading back into the kitchen to take out the lasagna and bread. He brings the items into the dining room to cool, looking up when he hears soft footsteps and quiet gurgles.

"Hey," Andy greets, stepping around the table and taking Libby from Sharon.

"Hi," She smiles as she shifts her hold on Drew.

"Everyone all topped off?"

"Yes," Sharon nods as she kisses the crown of Drew's head before smiling at Vicky, "Vicky, how are you? I was so sorry to hear about your grandmother."

"I'm fine, it was a shock but deep down we were expecting it, she was in her late 80s," Vicky comments with a wave of her wrist as she steps closer, "How are you? They're here!"

"They are," Sharon laughs. Andy pulls a chair out for her with his free hand and nods for her to sit down, "Thank you."

"They're adorable," Vicky comments as she stands behinds Sharon's chair and looks down at Drew, "You finally drew that Irish gene out of him."

"Double time," Sharon replies as she gestures at Libby, "They both have the red hair and fair skin. Andy's been beside himself, calling her his 'Irish Princess'."

"She is," Andy defends as he presses a kiss to his daughter's cheek. Sharon offers him a soft smile as he sways with the baby in his arms, his nose resting against the top of her head. Her attention is torn away as she hears the kids making their way back in.

"Mommy!" Emily calls out, making her way over to her mother and wrapping her arms around her. Sharon wraps her free arm around the girl and presses a kiss to her head, laughing as Ricky leans on his sister's back and wraps his arms around the both of them. He pulls back after a moment and points at Libby in Andy's arms.

"That's Libby, and that's," Ricky says to Nicole and Charlie, "Drew."

"You're getting pretty good at telling them apart," Sharon compliments her older son and shifts her hold on the younger one so his brother and sister can get a better look at him.

"Drew has more hair," Ricky says with a shrug, making the adults laugh.

* * *

[TBC]


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes:** Thanks to everyone for reviewing the last chapter! We're coming full circle from the beginning of this fic. This is going to be the last chapter for this portion, and we will continue on with the Flynn family in the next sequel "Momentum". Enjoy!

* * *

Andy sighs as he makes his way down the walk towards the mailbox. He steps into the road and pulls the flap down, pulling out the pile of mail within before shutting it and making his way back inside. He quickly sorts through the stack of envelopes, dropping a few of them in the trash right away before heading into the living room and sinking down on the couch next to Sharon. Drew was fast asleep in the bouncer seat sitting in front of the couch while Libby was on the tail end of finishing a mid morning feed.

"How's she doing?" Andy asks as he drops the mail into his lap before wrapping his arm around Sharon's shoulder and drawing her back into his chest.

"Eats like a champ," Sharon smiles, leaning her head against Andy's shoulder. He presses a kiss to her temple before putting his feet up on the coffee table, "Feet."

"Come on, Shar."

"No feet on the coffee table," Sharon says with a playfully stern voice. Andy sighs and puts his feet down before yawning as he leans his head back against the couch, "You alright?"

"Yeah just a little tired…" Andy replies, closing his eyes as he enjoys Sharon's weight against him. They had both been getting up during the night with the twins, alternating feedings. But the little fusses in between, he would be up and walking them. Sometimes they would go back to sleep, sometimes they would carry on and he'd take them out to the living room. He was up with the kids and getting them ready for school, letting Sharon have the extra hour of sleep before they would set off for the day.

"You don't have to wait on us hand and foot," Sharon says, "We can manage for a couple hours if you want to take a nap."

"I'm fine," Andy assures her. The twins were just coming up on two weeks old and he felt like he hadn't had a wink of sleep since, "You did all the hard work the last nine months."

"You have to go back to work sooner than I do," Sharon murmurs reminding him that he was supposed to be back at work the middle of the next week. He was reluctant to leave them. He knew that his wife was more than capable of getting through the day with the two of them, but he still didn't want to go, "I don't want you to be lagging on day one."

"I'll be fine," Andy replies, pressing a kiss to her head as he takes a moment to enjoy the silence. He quickly finds himself dozing off only to jolt awake a few minutes later when he feels Sharon move. He sits up a bit more and rubs his eyes before taking Libby from her and smiling at the baby. She was half asleep and warm from Sharon's body heat, her blue eyes slowly blinking as she yawns. He lifts her to his shoulder and burps her before rubbing his hand up and down her back until she dozes off. He carefully puts her in the bouncer seat that was empty next to Drew, buckling her in and draping a blanket over her legs. A hum escapes him as he feels his wife's nails scraping gently up his back through his t-shirt. Sharon moves her hand up and down a few times before squeezing his shoulder and smiling at him.

"You're so good with them."

"This part is easy," Andy shrugs with a smile, "They eat, sleep, and wet diapers."

"Still. I like it," Sharon replies, pressing a kiss to his cheek before resuming her spot nestled into his side as she turns the tv on. Andy settles in as well and starts to open the mail in his lap. He opens a few pieces, tucking them next to his leg to organize later before holding one out to Sharon, "What is it?"

"I am officially sperm free."

"Hmm, are you now?" She says as she holds the letter a bit away from her face so she can focus on the words, reading the test results from his doctor before waving the paper towards the twins, "Little late though, isn't it?"

"Nah," Andy shakes his head as he looks at the sleeping babies. Sharon laughs softly and hands him the piece of paper back.

"Good answer," She tells him. Andy grins and tucks it in with the rest of the pile before continuing on his task to get through the mail. Once he opens the last piece, his eyes scan over the couple pieces of paper with more intent and inspection, folding them back together with a grumble.

"What?" Sharon asks, looking up at him.

"Nothing, just the hospital bill," Andy shrugs it off.

"Didn't waste any time sending that over," Sharon replies, glancing over at the twins. She shifts her position, sitting up a little bit more and turning to face him, "How bad is it?"

"About nine thousand," Andy answers as he reaches up to scratch at his brow.

"Nine!" Sharon is quick to exclaim, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper as Drew lets out a whine, "Nine thousand dollars! What about insurance?"

"That is with insurance. Don't forget you were in the hospital for five days before they were born and we spent an extra two days in the hospital after," Andy reminds her.

"Still," Sharon sighs and shakes her head, "We can take it out of savings. I was hoping to leave that alone for a while after the ransacking we've been doing the last few months."

"Well hopefully we're on the way up from here," Andy says with a shrug, choosing to look on the bright side of things.

"Mmm," Sharon hums softly before leaning into his side and pressing a kiss to his lips, "I love you."

"I love you too," Andy murmurs as he rubs his hand up her back, "So what do you think?"

"About what?" Sharon asks as she sinks into his hold.

"About where we are now. A year ago we were happy to be have all of the kids in school and planning our first big family vacation, looking forward to a life without diapers and sippy cups. And now…"

"And now we're very blessed with our health, the kids' health, and two more sweet little angels," Sharon finishes. She reaches up and strokes her hand over Andy's cheek and offers him a soft smile, "And just like last year I can't wait to see what the future holds with you by my side."

"Me either," Andy replies and turns his head to press his lips to her palm. Sharon's smile widens and she presses a kiss to his cheek.

"You are too much sometimes, Andy Flynn," She mumbles against his skin before biting him playfully and getting up off the couch as the phone rings. She steps through to the kitchen and picks the phone up off the hook, "Flynn Residence…yes, this is her stepmother…oh, of course I can come pick her up, it will be about half an hour…thank you."

"What's wrong?" Andy asks as he gets up from the couch.

"That was the nurse at Nicole's school. They couldn't get ahold of Vicky. I'm going to go pick her up," Sharon tells him as she walks to the foyer to grab her shoes.

"What's wrong? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, nothing serious," Sharon assures him as she pulls her booties on before grabbing her jacket.

"I can go get her," Andy says as he makes his way over.

"I don't mind," Sharon says as she shrugs her jacket on, "I should be back in an hour and a half if you want to leave a message for Vicky that we have her. If they get hungry before I'm back there's some milk in the fridge."

"Okay, you sure you don't want me to go?"

"I've got it," Sharon assures him, pressing a kiss to his cheek before stepping back to the living room and kissing the twins on their head. She grabs the car keys before heading out to pick up Nicole. The two of them return a couple hours later and Sharon sends the girl down to her room with a grocery bag before going in search of Andy. She finds her husband in the nursery with both of the twins laid out on the changing table in the process of changing their diapers, "I see you managed to survive without me."

"Barely," Andy laughs as he pulls the tabs together on Libby's diaper before moving over to Drew. He turns his head and looks at Sharon as she steps up beside him to finish dressing the baby up, "Nicole okay?"

"Yeah, I just sent her to get changed. I told her we could watch a movie," Sharon says as she does up the snaps on Libby's outfit before picking her up and kissing her on the head.

"What did the nurse say was wrong with her?" Andy asks as he tosses the balled up dirty diaper into the bin next to the changing table.

"Oh," Sharon hums, "Nothing wrong really. She started her period in gym class this morning."

"She…oh…"

"So, she's fine," Sharon assures him with a small grin, "We stopped by the store on the way home and I've got it all covered."

"Is there anything I should…" Andy questions with a shrug as he picks Drew up.

"I wouldn't make a big fuss," Sharon says, "Did you get ahold of Vicky?"

"I left a message for her at work that Nic was here and there wasn't a rush to come get her."

"Good," Sharon smiles, pressing a kiss to Andy's cheek before going to check on Nicole.

Later in the evening Andy heaves a sigh as Sharon lifts Libby out of the bathtub and plops her in the fluffy towel in his hands. She arches her eyebrow at him as he wraps the baby up and carries her out to the bedroom. She empties out the small bathtubs she'd been using and leaves them to dry before pushing herself up off the floor and heading into the bedroom after her husband. Drew was already diapered and clothed in his pajamas, laid out in his cradle. She smoothes her hand over his head as she walks past, her eyes on Andy as he sways back and forth with Libby. They had dressed in their own pajamas before starting the task of getting the twins bathed. Andy had decided to dress only in a pair of sweatpants, leaving them slung low on his hips. The girl was still wrapped in her towel, her cheek resting against Andy's bare chest as he presses his lips to the top of her head.

"Something on your mind?" Sharon asks as she sinks down on the edge of the bed, watching the two of them.

"I remember when Nicole was this small," Andy says quietly, "She used to just stare up at me with those big eyes of hers and it terrified me…has it really been that long?"

"It has," Sharon smiles. Nicole was the firstborn and Andy was always smacked in the face with the reality of his kids getting older when she reached important milestones, "Time flies doesn't it?"

"Can't we just keep them this tiny forever?" Andy asks, turning his brown eyes on his wife.

"Mmm, I wish we could. They've already changed so much in the last couple weeks…thirteen days ago I just wanted them out, and now…" Sharon shrugs and shakes her head with a wet smile, "Firsts and lasts. They are the best and worst parts of being a parent. And sometimes the firsts make you reflect on the lasts…"

"She's practically a woman."

"She will always be your little girl. Always," Sharon assures her husband.

* * *

[The End]


End file.
